Fate Recondite
by Ravoleck
Summary: Shirou sacrificed himself to take Gilgamesh with him, dropping both of them into the Holy Grail. So he should be dead, right? Then why does he have so many questions? Questions such as why is he still alive? Why is the moon shattered? What is a faunus?
1. Ingress

**RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night is property of Type-Moon, neither of which I am affiliated with besides being a massive fan. I do not profit off of writing or publishing this. **

**I know a lot of you are watching Unlimited Blade Works the anime and have never read the visual novel. Unless you like spoilers, get out. There are massive spoilers in this and unless you like having a really good story spoiled for you, you should either wait until the series is finished or read the visual novel before moving onto this. Seriously, the anime misses a lot of stuff and I may occasionally reference stuff that isn't in there but is in the novel. If you do, get ready to cry during the Heaven's Feel route. Anyway, if you're still here, enjoy my return to creative writing.**

* * *

The chains of Enkidu wrapped around his arm, Shirou was faced with one of the most difficult decisions he would ever make. Should he struggle against their pull, anchoring himself and allowing Gilgamesh to pull himself back into this world? Or should he let himself go, falling into the seemingly endless abyss and taking the King of Heroes with him to ensure that he could never again threaten this world. If he did, he knew that his life would end, leaving behind his loved ones aside from Saber who had already moved on. Fuji-nee and Sakura both would be saddened by his passing, and Rin... Well, it was hard to tell with Tohsaka just what exactly she thought of anybody, but he had shared those moments with her, the two of them moaning the other's name and embracing each other. He liked to think that she would at least think somewhat fondly of him.

"Fool! Does it not know Servants cannot become the core?" The king roared. He pulled heavily with his remaining arm and looped another length of chain around his wrist as he slowly hauled himself out of the void. His rage was palpable, a wild and furious look on his face as his eyes settled on the red haired faker who dared oppose him and shatter some of his treasures.

Shirou had to make a decision. Now. He knew that there was really no such thing as a deus ex machina, and that even if there was, it had already occurred, sucking away Gilgamesh from Unlimited Blade Works into a world devoid of anything. Even then, he had held against and defied the will of the world, breaching his way back into this one. No, if anything was going to save the world, it would have to be Shirou. At least this way, Shirou would achieve his dream.

He would become a true hero.

Shirou let go and felt the mighty pull of the chains that once imprisoned Heaven's Bull take him. The last thing he saw as he dropped into the black hole was the look of astonishment and despair on Gilgamesh's face as he too fell. He couldn't help but feel some small amount of satisfaction at that.

The courtyard, now empty, fell silent as the tear in the fabric of reality closed, a wrong righted by Gaia, the world itself. A man in a red coat stood hidden some ways away, a sad smile on his face and a fading mundane dagger on the floor next to him. He knew now that he would never be free. He had, after all, encouraged the boy to be a hero and said that he was the only one who could fight the King of Heroes and win. He had sent the boy to his death, had killed him. Though that was not his intent, it had been his original plan.

And yet Counter Guardian Emiya was still here.

He stood up from where he kneeled, struggling to gather the strength needed to do so. He had spent almost every bit of himself in the past couple of days. Heavy use of Gradiation Air to defend his former master from the grail and maintaining his presence in this world was taxing on what little prana he had left now that he had no master. Taking one last look at the scene before him, he sighed and turned, moving to meet his former master one last time. He would need his strength to tell her what had happened and what had been sacrificed for it.

Tohsaka had always been frightening when he pulled one of his bone-headed antics.

* * *

**_Die_**

Shirou fell for what seemed an eternity. He had at first fallen with Gilgamesh, but after some time, the two had been separated. Shirou was okay with this as, though he could not hear it in this world where noise was nothing, Gilgamesh had been screaming and raging at him the entire time. What Shirou was not okay with was the maddening weight of the evils of all mankind.

**_Die Rape Murder Despair Suffer_**

Noise and light were non-existent in this world. Even when Gilgamesh had been nearby, he could not see the blonde-haired king, merely feeling the presence of his mind and the entirety of his hatred directed at him. There was only feeling and Shirou was drowning in it. His mind was swimming in a sea of melancholy and rage and apathy. His sense of identity had never always been strong, his birth name having been consumed by the Great Fuyuki Fire long ago, but he could feel what little he had being smothered. A chorus of madness surrounded him, singing a dirge of despair and beckoning him to join in. He felt like he was dying again.

**_Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die Die_**

He felt like he was in the fire again.

**_Hope_**

A sudden sense of clarity blew through him, driving away that horrible heat. For the first time since he had fallen in, he could see something in the darkness. A pair of strikingly red eyes sat squarely on an alabaster face framed by locks of snow-driven hair. They looked into his soul and found it horribly distorted. A wave of emotion, of pity and anguish, washed over those eyes and crashed onto him. They could not fix him, but that was okay, he told them. He did not want to be fixed. If he was fixed, then everything he had suffered was a lie. It wouldn't be fair to those that had suffered more than he had to make light of their troubles. Those eyes stared at him for a good long time at that and slowly determination filled them.

In that world filled with all the evils of mankind, a white radiant light emanated from those eyes. As the light slowly filled his vision, Shirou continued to fall. However, he noticed that something had changed. Where before there was only darkness and an overbearing weight on his soul, now there was stars and air moving away from him. He turned slowly and saw that there were trees. He turned more and saw that there was the ground rushing up to meet hi-

* * *

There is a certain irony, Shirou decided, in this situation. He had died to the Holy Grail only to wake up in a bed without knowing where he was. Again. Shirou took a few moments to observe his surroundings. It was daytime, with light filtering in through the window and falling on his bed. His bed had rails lining the sides of them, though they weren't keeping him prisoner. On one side of the rails, a series of buttons lay within reach. A grey plastic chair sat in the corner of the room. There was various pieces of equipment near him, the sound of soft beeps matching in time to a green line spiking on one screen. It was a heart monitor. He was in a hospital. The sounds of people walking past his oak door and a voice lined with static calling for a doctor to an operating bay confirmed that thought.

Shirou pushed himself up to a sitting position, feeling a stiffness throughout all of his body. He listened to the steady beeping of the heart monitor next to him and took comfort in the fact that he was still alive. With a thought, he turned his attention inwards towards himself. His magic circuits were not damaged by what he had gone through and his injuries from his battle with Gilgamesh had healed completely. He was not surprised from this; he had, after all, survived being stabbed in the heart before. Satisfied with his body's current status, he found and pressed the call sign on his bed.

A few seconds passed and Shirou heard a knock at the opening door. "Good afternoon, sir. How are you feeling?" Closing the door behind him, the man in the long white coat stood with a confidence that only came with long practice in his profession. Though his body language presented a comforting air, his soft blue eyes scanned Shirou, seeking any ailment that he might be suffering.

"I feel okay," Shirou replied easily. It was the truth. The pains that came with the knowledge that he had pushed himself to the absolute limits and beyond in his fight were already fading. When he left this place, he would have to check with Tohsaka why that was. He had healed extraordinarily quickly during the war and it had served him well, but he would need to know if it could compromise the secret of magic if he was injured in public. Already, he was racing to find possible covers if he had healed too quickly to be possible. It all depended on how long he had been unconscious.

"Well, that's good to hear," the doctor replied. "You've been in here overnight. Somebody found you after you decided to put a good sized dent in the earth." The man chuckled. "I'm surprised you're even awake right now, let alone feeling well."

The man kept his eyes on one of the pages of a clipboard he had carried in as he kept chuckling. "I don't know what you crazy huntsmen do to train, but if you're not careful, your aura isn't going to save you again."

"Y-yes, of course. I'll definitely be sure to be more careful in the future." Shirou grasped onto that excuse like a lifeline. He had heard stories from his father about how the Mage's Association would send agents in to scramble the brains of anybody who got too close to the secret of magic. Often times, Kiritsugu told him, they'd wipe too hard and remove essential parts of the personality of the victim. Shirou didn't want that happening to somebody who had dedicated his life to healing others. "Though if I may ask, where am I? This doesn't look like Fuyuki General."

The doctor, Merrywether as the blue lining on his breast read, tilted his head to the side as he regarded Shirou. "Is that in Vacuo? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with any hospitals outside of Vale."

A spike of confusion and panic nestled into the pit of his stomach. Where did that portal take him? He had never heard of either of those places and they were certainly not Japanese names. Carefully, he dodged the question. "So, I'm in... Vale then." Merrywether smiled warmly at him.

"Yes, you're in the First Clinic of Vale. We found you just near the edge of the Emerald Forest. Apparently," Merrywether took a second to flip through his clipboard before seemingly finding what he was looking for on the last page, "You were found by a team from Beacon Academy before they brought you here."

"Ah, that makes sense." Though he maintained a thoughtful expression outwardly, Shirou was panicking on the inside. Those sounded like English names, which meant he was far away from home.

The doctor rifled through the pages on the board for a second before tucking it under his arm. "Well, now that you're awake, how about we sort some things out." Though the doctor had sounded cheerful when he said that, Shirou remained cautious. Merrywether, having seemed oblivious, caught onto Shirou's nervousness right away. "Oh don't worry. We don't charge huntsmen for our services here, given what you do for humanity, so you don't need to worry about insurance if you don't have it."

Again, the kindly middle-aged man with the slowly graying hair gave Shirou the perfect out. "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm not exactly familiar with your country's hospital system, so I wasn't sure..." Shirou petered out, his nerves from this situation slowly choking what words dared come to mind. Merrywether handed him the clip board with what looked like a form and a pen. Shirou took both in hand and brought the pen to paper before stopping suddenly, nearly dropping both onto the bed.

Shirou couldn't read what was on the page.

It wasn't Japanese, and although Fuji-nee wasn't the best teacher, she still taught English well enough that he could make out basic sentences. What was on the page was neither of those languages, or any other script he had looked at during his magus studies in his father's library. He handed the clipboard back to the puzzled doctor. "Sorry. My eyes are still blurry from waking up."

The doctor nodded in understanding. "Very well. How about you dictate and I'll fill it out for you?" He pulled the small uncomfortable looking chair out from the corner of the room and sat down at Shirou's bedside. "What's your name then?"

"Emiya Shirou." The words came easily enough. Perhaps his latest death, and Shirou knew that he had died, hadn't been nearly as debilitating as his first one if he was able to give his full name. The doctor nestled the clipboard in the crook of his crossed leg and quickly scribbled the name near the top of the page.

When he finished writing the unusual name, he looked up, eyes bright at finally knowing the boy's name."Alright then, Emiya. How old are you?"

Shirou gave a small laugh at the mistake. "I'm eighteen." He paused for a second as the doctor turned his attention back towards the board. "And I'm sorry, but my given name is Shirou." The doctor apologized, laughing with Shirou politely as he did so.

This continued for a while with Shirou struggling to give answers while trying to subtly probe for information on where he was. Some of the questions gave him pause though such as where he was from or if he had any blood relations that were a faunus and if so, what kind. He had never heard of a faunus. He didn't reveal that though. Taking the doctor's reaction of sitting up a little straighter and seeming even cheerier than before as a sign, he assumed it was a bad thing.

Eventually, the questions came to an end and Shirou was assured that he could check out whenever he wanted. After he dressed himself in his sliced up blue shirt and jeans, Shirou left the hospital and hit the streets.

He needed answers.

* * *

Several days later, Shirou had his answers. He was indeed far removed from his world. He knew as much when he saw the shattered moon in the night sky. He had fallen to his knees in disbelief, the people passing him by looking at him in slight interest and concern. One woman approached him and asked if he was okay. When he pulled his mind from despairing thoughts and said that he was fine, the woman left, her dog-like tail swinging behind her. The Latin root '_faun_' came to mind then and he was reminded of what Merrywether had asked him, if he was related to any faunus or not. Understanding the question for what it was, he watched the woman walk away to join her friends, some of whom had various animal parts.

Idly, he noted in his shock that Shinji would probably label this place a paradise. His mind overburdened with all of this new information, Shirou left to find a silent place to collect himself and think on a way to return home.

He had, on that first night, settled into the woods to hunt woodland animals and practice his magecraft away from prying eyes. He had some experience in rough camping, his father claiming that he may need it someday. As he made his way deeper into the forest, now knowing it as the Emerald Forest, he found that he had ample opportunity to practice his magecraft through practical use. Namely, by defending himself from masked creatures with red eyes and bones sticking from their flesh.

Their flesh reminded him of the black void that was the Holy Grail.

As he cut the last of them down, he watched as the corpses of the creatures flaked away in the cold wind of the night. He got no sleep that night as the beasts kept attacking him as he was about to slumber. His stomach rumbled in protest of being ignored in favor of the constant battles. Finally deciding the woods as a lost cause, he started back towards the city as the sun started to rise. As he wandered back into the city, which he learned was named Vale, he discovered the name of these abominations that reminded him of the more savage animals from his world.

The **Grimm**.

That had been nearly a week ago and he was facing more problems than just being in another world. The little money that he had carried into battle was useless here and he was starving. He had started taken to sleeping in the alley ways as he was unable to pay for shelter in a motel or anything of the sort. While far safer than sleeping alone in the Emerald Forest, he still faced the dangers of being mugged by thugs or being jumped by other transients in search of a relatively comfy corner. As a result, Shirou was starting to become more and more desperate as his body started becoming fatigued more easily. He needed to earn money if he wanted to survive.

However, Shirou learned quickly that finding a job was difficult when you didn't have birth records, references, or even the ability to read or write. At first, when he was interviewed by those not terribly put off his torn clothing, they were interested to meet him, but when they learned of his disability or that he had no records, they politely ended the interview right there. When he started smelling like trash cans, they refused to even meet with him, sometimes downright attacking him for wandering in through the door.

He huddled in the corner of the alley way, shivering as he brought his knees closer to his body. It was evidently in the middle of the winter season as the wind was bitter and cold as it ripped through the sliced open holes and tears in his clothing. Had he known this would be his fate, he would have prepared himself for the rough elements a little more thoroughly. Despite his uncomfortable situation, Shirou chuckled to himself at the thought of meeting Gilgamesh dressed in an oversized winter coat and thick woolen pants.

A sudden shriek pierced the chill night air. Before it even dissipated, Shirou was on his feet, the hammer slamming down as the trigger was pulled. "Trace on!" Two swords formed in his empty hands, beautiful in their simplicity and duality. One pure white and the other black with a red hexagonal pattern along its surface, Bakuya and Kanshou seemed to sing as Shirou's hands tightened around their handles. The Married Swords bolstered his physical and magical defense stats, inuring him to the cold as he raced through the back alleys towards the sound of fear.

His stomach tightened in protest to this sudden burst of energy, but he ignored the painful sensation of his lungs burning as he pulled up whatever energy he had left. Somebody needed to be saved. Somebody needed him. He would need all the strength he could muster for whatever he may have to do.

A flash of rage burned through his mind, dwarfing whatever his stomach may have felt as he witnessed the sight of a pair of young women surrounded by four vicious looking men, their suits hinting at Shirou that they were part of organized crime. He had seen something similar the few times he visited Fuji-nee's grandfather, the head of the local yakuza, regarding his father's estate. The women were clutching to each other, their clothes disheveled as they tried to shy away from the men. However, the men kept advancing on them until the women's backs were against one of the alley walls.

"Please no! Don't come any closer! Take our money, just don't hurt us!" One of the woman, who Shirou recognized as the woman who asked him if he was okay the first day he got here, cried as she threw her purse towards the men. The men didn't say anything as the kept drawing closer. A dark chorus of chuckles was their response as they drew machetes from their sides. Shirou couldn't help but grit his teeth as he watched this from the shadows of the alleyway.

The men finally got within an arms length of the pair. One man, his smirk growing larger and pushing his sunglasses higher up his nose, raised his machete, preparing to strike. His arm jerked down and the women clutched at each other even tighter and screamed. Blood splattered on their faces. However, they realized that it wasn't theirs and checked the other to see if she was harmed. A shout drew their attention, and as both looked towards the men who had approached them after a quiet dinner and movie, they saw something that held their rapt attention.

A warrior god fought before them, his hair the color of blood and wielding a pair of blades, both perfectly forged to a quality they knew they would never see again. He attacked the men with a ferocity unmatched by any, placing his back to the couple and keeping the men away from them. When one of the men moved to strike at them, the warrior would place himself in the path of the blow, sacrificing his safety to ensure theirs. Blood dripped down onto the cold paved road under him as he continued battling to protect them.

After the last man dropped, Shirou turned back towards the women and they watched him like deer before headlights, unsure of who he was or what he would do. Shirou shifted Bakuya into his left hand with Kanshou and bent down, picking something up. Slowly righting himself whilst wincing in pain, he moved cautiously towards the two so as not to frighten them. He held out his right hand and the dog faunus stared at it, not comprehending what it was he held towards her at first before realization danced across her eyes.

"Thank you," was all she said as she gently took her purse from Shirou. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at the face of her savior. A soft and warm smile that met his gentle brown eyes was splayed across his face. Again, she found her breath stolen away from her. He turned away and started walking back towards the street, a slight limp in his gait. "Wait!" He paused and turned partially back towards her, his frame shadowed by the streetlights. "Don't you want a reward?" Her raven haired friend turned towards her, shock evident in her eyes as she had heard those words before, usually directed at some man who had done either of them a small favor. Usually she did not mind, but there was something about this man that made her want to get away from him despite his heroics.

Shirou, to her relief, declined. "That's alright. I don't need a reward." Those words stilled the two. Shirou turned back towards the street, swords in both hands, but as he got close to the entrance to alley, he collapsed to his knees. Shocked out of her stupor, the faunus ran to his side, noticing the way he was holding his stomach. Thinking the worst, she pulled his hand away to inspect him, only to hear a large growl emit from his stomach. Shocked, she looked up at Shirou's face, only to see him glancing away at something in the distance, wearing a dark blush and an uncomfortable look on his face.

"I think it actually just growled the words 'feed me'." The red on her savior's face grew deeper. One of the defeated men, still barely hanging onto consciousness, watched the scene and laughed slightly under his breath before passing out, his aura already knitting his injuries back together.

* * *

The two could only watch in astonishment as the boy before them devoured his fifth cheeseburger and greedily gulp at the "Extra-Dextra Size" chocolate milkshake in the small diner. The poor thing looked like he had had a rough time given the way he was shoveling fries into his mouth like he hadn't seen a hot meal in days and how he wore those filthy ragged clothes. Finally, after the sixth plate of cheeseburgers and fries, Shirou's hunger was sated. The warmth of the diner's atmosphere seeped into his skin, a pleasant change of pace from the biting wind outside. Kanshou and Bakuya sat, leaning against his booth. The sight of the scimitars set some of the staff on edge, but those who served huntsmen weren't bothered by the presence of the blades.

"Thank you for the meal," Shirou said. He clasped his hands together and bowed as low as he could from where he sat across the table from the two.

"No, thank you. If you hadn't come when you did, we... we..." The red-haired faunus, who had introduced herself as Sandy and her friend as Veronica, paused for a second, unable to contemplate what would have happened to them. Shaking her head, she looked Shirou in the eye. "This was the least we could do."

Shirou just closed his eyes and smiled sadly. While he would've liked to pay the bill himself, he regretted the fact that he was unable to do so. Instead, he looked back at Sandy. "I disagree, but thank you regardless."

Sandy hummed to herself in thought as she looked him over. Shirou felt a shiver of dread run down his spine for some strange reason. "The next thing we need to do is get you some new clothes." Shirou's instincts yelled at him to run in fear, but his sensibility told them to shut up. It would be incredibly rude to run away from somebody kind enough to pay for the first meal he had in several days.

Shirou meekly held up a hand in slight protest. "Ahhh, no, this is fine. Really. You've done more than enough for me. I actually feel bad about making you pay for all this food." Sandy stood up and slammed her hands on the table. A few of the other diners looked towards them and then quickly continued eating. For the first time since he had met her, however brief that was, she looked positively angry.

"You saved our lives out there. You're bleeding. You were starving. And you must be freezing in those clothes. I can smell you, and you smell like that Mistrallian restaurant on Fourth except _worse._ You're living on the street," she seethed at the way he refused her help. In the small part of his mind that wasn't frozen in fear, Shirou wondered at how she knew that before remembering that from what he had heard, the faunus had drastically increased senses and that some had traits akin to those of their animal counterparts. From what he remembered, dogs had a sense of smell magnitudes more powerful than a human's back on Earth. "I'm paying for your meal. Then, I'm going to pay for your new clothes. Then, you're going to take a shower at our place and sleep on a nice warm couch." Veronica's eyes grew progressively wider at each of those statements. After that last one, she stood up from the table.

"Sandy, we need to talk." Grabbing her by the sleeve of her sweater, Veronica tried to drag her friend away. Sandy looked confused at why, but stood her ground. When Veronica pulled harder and threatened to damage her sweater, she relented to Veronica who led her towards the ladies' room, only moving after telling Shirou to stay where he was in a low voice. In the relative privacy of the bathroom, Veronica turned towards her closest friend. "Sandy, I don't want him in our apartment."

Sandy gaped at her friend, not knowing where this was coming from. "Ronny, he saved our lives. And more."

Veronica's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward slightly. "I don't care, Sandy. He's dangerous. I'm fine with paying for his food and some new clothes, but I put my foot down at letting him anywhere near we sleep."

She couldn't believe this was coming from her friend. Sandy moved over towards the sinks and slowly counted. When she had calmed down enough for her breathing to not be audible, she faced Veronica. "One night. That's all. One night to let him get himself cleaned up and help find him somewhere else to stay." She was surprised at the look of abject terror and disbelief on Veronica's face.

"Sandy, you never said anything about finding him someplace to live." Surprise turned to anger and Sandy strongly considered slapping her best friend for the first time ever. As she was about to retort, they both paused at the sound of sudden running water and a slight cough.

Embarrassed at being overheard, Sandy moved towards the door. "Let's continue this outside." As she moved back towards the table however, she found that their savior had left. A plate with a few fries and a piece of paper with a crude depiction of someone bowing with hands together was the only proof that he had ever been there. "That jerk," Sandy softly murmured to herself, pretending not to see the look of palpable relief on her friends face.

* * *

Shirou had taken their brief leave as an opportunity to leave himself. Remembering that nobody would be able to read what he wrote, he asked one of the waitresses for a piece of paper and a pen. Quickly sketching out a stick figure asking for apology, he readied himself to set off into the cold night air. As he neared the restaurant's door, he saw several thick jackets on the coat rack next to it and looked longingly at them for a second before continuing out.

His clothes had already been in tatters before the fight; now they were looking like they might fall off of him. Still, he didn't regret leaving. A hero never asked for a reward. Doing so would defeat the whole point of it. He didn't want to help people because of what he would gain from it; he did it because he wanted to know what his father felt when he rescued him. He wanted to know what it was like to smile like that man did.

"That was a very noble thing you did." A voice rang out. He cursed at himself for being caught unawares despite knowing that his mind was frazzled from the lack of proper sleep. He was growing even more tired from constantly using his prana to maintain his projections as he couldn't simply let Gaia dispel the Married Swords in public, however few people there were at this time of night. It seemed Vale was a metropolis like Tokyo or New York City was for his world. Allowing his projections to fade would reveal magecraft to the people around him.

Shirou shook his head. His exhaustion was letting his thoughts digress too much. His focus sharpened, he brought his attention to a middle-aged man dressed in green leaning on a cane, tiny spectacles across the bridge of his nose. A small smile adorned his face, but his eyes told a different story. Those hawk-like eyes were like Archer's, though his held no malevolence or disdain like the Servant's had when they first met. Those eyes studied him, searched him for something, judging him for what he was worth. A long pause held between the two of them as Shirou's grip around his blades tightened slightly.

Finally, the man's eyes joined his mouth in that affable grin. The air, which was beginning to feel like it was suffocating Shirou, lifted all at once. "I'm sure those ladies will be quite upset that you left."

Shirou lessened his hold on Kanshou and Bakuya. Shaking his head, he finally replied to the unknown man. "Maybe, but if I had stayed, I would have felt like I had been taking advantage of their kindness." The man seemed to consider that before slowly closing the distance between the two. Shirou took note of how he wasn't dependent on his cane to walk and how he carried himself.

This man was just as dangerous as any Servant.

"If it was so freely offered, is it really taking advantage of them?" The appraisal returned to his eyes for a second, waiting for the boy's reasoning.

Shirou paused in thought for a moment to work out how he was going to phrase his response. His very brief time as Tohsaka's friend had taught him that a thoughtlessly worded reply could have massive consequences. One such consequence was having an physically manifested illness shot at you with the force of a bullet behind it. "Yes. Yes, it would have. If I had stayed, then it would go against everything I've ever worked for." The man watched him for several seconds.

"Where are you staying?" The change in topic was so abrupt that it threw Shirou for a loop before he replied after a moment that he was staying in the downtown area. "Do you know who I am?" Shirou was rapidly becoming confused by this constantly evolving conversation, compounded by the headache that was starting to form from exhaustion. Answering in the negative, he waited for the man to pause for a second before continuing. "I am Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy."

A flash of recognition danced in Shirou's eyes. "Oh, I suppose I should thank you then. After all, it was one of your teams that found me in the forest before those monsters did."

"Indeed." Ozpin leaned forward on his cane. "We were quite surprised to find someone not of our own out there by themselves." Shirou kept quiet at that, unsure of how to respond. The streets were starting to fully empty for the night. The moon, usually presenting its shattered visage, was entirely full on this night. If he didn't know otherwise, he would have assumed it was his world's. "Tell me, would you be interested in a spot at my school?"

Shirou wasn't totally surprised by that. He gathered that the man had been watching him for a while since he had saved Sandy and Veronica and that he trained people to be able to slay monsters. If he was honest with himself, he was actually excited by the chance to join the ranks of the huntsmen. His chances of returning home seemed increasingly slim the longer he stayed out here. Not to mention, he could finally reach his goal of becoming a hero like his father always wanted to be. However, there was a problem.

Shirou rubbed the back of his head, careful not to cut himself with Kanshou. "I can't afford any tuition fees your school might have," he mumbled. Back in his world, he had been able to live comfortably due to his inheritance, and to suddenly be so destitute and dependent on the kindness of others was humbling and shaming. If he ever returned home, he was going to start also volunteering at homeless shelters in addition to saving people.

Ozpin's smile grew slightly bigger and walked to Shirou's side. Putting his arm lightly around the boy, he led the two of them westwards. "Unfortunately, the school term has already started and teams are formed around a level of trust and communication formed through..." Ozpin paused here, as though stumbling around a series of words before continuing unabated, "certain means. To introduce you now to a fully formed team, which are all that we have at the moment as we take safety at Beacon very seriously, would be detrimental to their overall performance."

The way he had phrased how teams formed unsettled Shirou slightly. Instead of addressing that though, he asked the blaringly obvious, "So how would I be attending your school?"

A mysterious smile danced on Ozpin's lips. "You would be a part of our staff."

Shirou was only slightly better as a teacher than he was as a student. He had taught Sakura everything she knew about cooking, after all. Shirou recognized that and he also recognized that he was a horrible student as well. He had been unwittingly been using his nerves as magic circuits instead of the ones he already had for years. When he first actively used his circuits several years after first being introduced to magic, he couldn't feel the left side of his body, almost like he had suffered a seizure. "I think I'm a little too young to teach though."

Ozpin continued leading the two through town, though he had since removed his arm from around his companion's shoulder. "That wouldn't be a problem. Our teaching staff is already full and there would be..." Ozpin blanched slightly as though an unpleasant thought occurred to him. "Consequences if I were to bring in any more teachers this late in the year. There would be terrible consequences."

Shirou was a little intimidated. Something that was slightly scary to a man who could probably stand toe to toe with a Servant would have been frightening to anyone else. Still, he had to ask. "So, what would I be doing?"

Ozpin kept looking forward, not being able to meet Shirou's curious gaze. "Well..."

* * *

In another world, bored out of his mind and waiting anxiously for the next time Sakura came to visit him, Matou Shinji laid on a hospital bed. He was lazily flipping through the channels when he dropped the remote control and whipped his head to look out the window at the bright sunny day. His mouth began twitching upwards for a few seconds before he erupted into gut-wrenching laughter. Later, when the nurse who was fixing the stitches on his stomach asked what so funny, Shinji wheezed out, "He's never going to be rid of that stupid nickname."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I love Fate/Stay Night and I love RWBY. I especially love the idea of Shirou copying all those unique weapons and using them just as well as their respective owners.**

**A few things:**

**1\. I'm not trying to make this Shirou any more overpowered than he already is. That being said, wow is UBW Shirou overpowered. He continued to absorb some of Archer's abilities and experience just by _being near him_ when he fought. He powered up so much at first, he thought Saber was going easy on him the next day. **

**2\. I may or may not follow canon RWBY arcs. Oh, you'll definitely at least see references or mentions of them, but I'm tired of always reading a decent fic that shows potential only to do the initiation and then stop because the author got bored or hit a wall. Rest in peace around ninety percent of all the fics I've read and liked.**

**3\. No main character OCs. None. You're not getting that here (besides the three that popped up in this chapter). No random faunus people (Not there's anything wrong with that. It's just not my thing.), no people infused with Grimm DNA or what have you, no Gary Stus or Mary Sues or Dr. Suess even. You get canon cast... well as canon as a fusion between FSN and RWBY can be.**


	2. Somnium

**RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night is property of Type-Moon, neither of which I am affiliated with in a professional capacity. I do not profit off of writing or publishing this.**

* * *

The surprisingly comforting sound of gears grinding against gears filled the ornate office as Ozpin filled out the paperwork necessary for Shirou's new job, the gentle scratch of pen on paper and occasional question between the two disrupting the atmosphere. Finally, Shirou sat back, pretending to scan the papers in his grasp for any inconsistencies that he could correct before he turned them over to the powerful man. Appearing to be satisfied with the unreadable writing, he leaned over the desk, the papers in his outstretched hand. Ozpin took them and scanned over them himself. As he watched his new boss read, Shirou heard the chiming of a clock tower outside the massive window that overlooked the campus far below. He stood up and walked over, taking in the view of tiny lights far below the office portraying the school in a soft, almost mysterious view at night. What would he find here at this school for warriors? A cough directed his attention back to the man at his back.

Ozpin stood up from his chair, grabbing a mug as he did so. "Well, now that the paperwork is out of the way, why don't you really tell me who you are?" The tone in Ozpin's question was so casual that Shirou's mind briefly stopped working. Had he been figured out so quickly? How? What gave it away? Ozpin raised the mug to his lips, tilting it up to take a swig. Satisfied with his beverage of choice, he continued. "A huntsmen of your caliber would be well-known in our circle, and we have no record of anybody remotely close to matching your appearance or age. Which could mean anything. Anything." Ozpin set the mug aside on his desk and grasped his cane, his knuckles popping slightly as his grip tightened. No longer as hungry or distraught as he was earlier, Shirou took a good look at the oddly shaped walking stick and knew everything about it immediately.

It was a weapon, wielded to its fullest capacity by somebody very powerful. Shirou noted its location in its newly found home that was the Unlimited Blade Works before realizing he had yet to answer the question. He couldn't reveal the secret of magic or else the Clock Tower...

Wait.

The Clock Tower didn't exist here. This wasn't his world. He was free to share the knowledge of the existence of magic. He didn't have to lie and give an answer that would land him in trouble.

Suddenly, the weight of the situation seemed to collapse in on him all at once. This wasn't his world. There was a good chance he'd never see Rin again. He was alone in a world filled with monstrosities that threatened to overrun all of the safe havens of the people. He had no means, no home, nothing beyond the clothes on his back and the swords in his world. Had Archer ever felt like this, this overwhelming feeling of loneliness and solitude?

Shirou felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up from the marble floor, he met cautious brown eyes. He took a moment to reflect and realized that, at some point, he had collapsed onto his knees and began hyperventilating. Shirou took a moment to collect himself and pushed himself off of the floor and stood before Ozpin. He took a deep breath.

"I'm from a world named Earth."

* * *

The clock tower in the distance had chimed several more times while Shirou had talked. During his tale, Ozpin had directed them back to their respective seats. He had not said a word while the dimensionally displaced boy told him what had led up to this moment in time. Ozpin learned of the existence of other magic and just what the red haired boy could do with it. Shirou had found some amusement when he had projected Ozpin's cane; the man had double checked whether or not he was still holding the original. When he discovered that Shirou was as nearly as proficient with it as he was, his eyebrows had shot up almost to his hairline. That was some time ago. Now, the two sat in silence, the lights of the room dimmed down low as their master and his guest sat in contemplation.

It was with great deliberation that Ozpin finally spoke. "I think," he paused for a heartbeat before continuing, "that we should not reveal the full scope of your abilities." He watched Shirou for several seconds, watching for a reaction. Finding none, he continued. "Nor should we reveal the truth about where you are from. There are some people who would seek to abuse your strength." Again, there was no reaction. "Unfortunately, I am one of them." That had a response: a quirk of an eyebrow as Shirou gazed at him curiously, looking at him like he was trying to read his mind. For all Ozpin knew, he was.

"I don't have any malicious intent, I assure you. In fact, I merely wish to resolve a dangerous situation before it devolves into something far more... disastrous." Ozpin lead forward, steepling his fingers in front of his face. Behind his hands, his face sat in a grim expression, his mouth set in a deep frown and his brow furrowed.

Shirou watched him for another couple seconds, the turning of cogs the only noise in the room.

"What is this situation?" Those brown eyes so much like his steeled and hardened as he asked the question. Ozpin could see that his resolve had been affirmed as he heard of a potential crisis.

"As of late, there has been increased activity of a terrorist group known as the White Fang. We've had reports of a stolen battle suit with their logo causing havoc on a freeway. Many innocents were either injured or killed in car accidents. Luckily, as I understand it, a few of our students were there to minimize the damage." He held Shirou's attention as he called up a few images on a computer screen he had booted up. A video of a large mech with a red wolf's head painted on its arm as it tore through dozens of cars played. "While I appreciate the valor and righteousness displayed by my students, I don't want them to have to fight this battle," Ozpin said quietly. The thought of sending warriors, not even fully grown adults, saddened him greatly.

Ozpin shook those thoughts from his head. "I'd rather the adults handle this so that they may never have to experience the horrors of war. I've seen enough battle and bloodshed in my life that I never want anyone to experience something so terrible." Ozpin stood from his chair and moved towards the window. His gaze was not directed towards the grounds, but towards a building in particular. That building had a few lights on in the windows, but for the most part, their occupants were fast asleep. He watched in the reflection of the glass as Shirou moved to stand beside him. They stayed like that for several minutes, the sound of pinions churning in the background.

"What would you want me to do?" That one sentence, softly asked, brought some relief to Ozpin. It did not stop his guilt though. After all, he was still sending a child out to do battle; the only difference from before was that it wasn't one from this world. Sharing in Shirou's resolve, he strode over to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a set of keys. Taking a moment to find and single out one of them, he said, "While most of these keys are useful in that they open the many doors to classrooms and offices here at Beacon, this one is perhaps the most useful to you at the moment. It is the key to the simulation hall where students can run training programs designed to challenge them to their limits and beyond."

He watched him take in the information, filing it away for future use. "You can use those halls at night to ensure you're at peak condition. Just make sure nobody sees you do it. In the future, I'd like for you to be my ace in the hole. Almost nobody knows of your existence at the moment, giving us the advantage. After all, you technically don't exist." Ozpin paused for a second as something nagged at him from the back of his mind. Ah, yes that was right. "Well, except for those hospital records you left." At Shirou's slightly embarrassed expression, he chuckled quietly before reassuring him that those could easily be taken care.

A yawn from Shirou reminded Ozpin of the time. It was very late and Shirou had not slept in anything remotely resembling a bed in more than a week. Chiding himself internally, Ozpin showed Shirou to his room on campus. After he had said good night to the lad, he walked to his own chambers in the academy. As he strolled, he wondered just what he done and what it would mean for the future.

* * *

He walked the desolate landscape, the heat of the flames all around him scorching his skin. The broken sword in his hand seemed to carry the weight of the world itself. Every step was a struggle as he picked his way through the rubble of collapsed buildings and burning bodies. Some of them still struggled, weakly calling out to him. When he heard their pleas, he rushed to help them. However, by the time he arrived, they had long since perished.

He felt almost nothing from their deaths. Long ago, he might have felt more, the person that he had been before he had died to this fire alongside all the others might have wept in sorrow or screamed in rage, but now the only emotion that their deaths invoked was a bitter disappointment in himself and a desperate desire to become stronger so that he could prevent another hell like this. He couldn't regret their death. If he did, it would be like spitting in the face of everything they had suffered.

And so he kept walking, searching for survivors as he did. Just as his father did.

The city changed and warped, and what had once been the scene of a raging fire had now become a massive graveyard. Each grave was marked by a sword, stretching out as far as he could see. No matter how far he walked through here, the horizon was lined with an uncountable number of blades. In this way, they were infinite. They were Unlimited.

This was no place for the living. Only the dead or dying saw this burial site with he as its caretaker and gravedigger. It was for this reason that he was surprised as he saw a small figure in the distance as it crested over a hill, its frame lithe and tiny. Its back was turned to him, long white locks of hair a curtain, preventing him from making out any other features about her. He called out for them, but the figure ran away from sight over the next hill.

He woke up.

Shirou blinked away the sleep slowly and lay beneath his stiff white bed sheets, lost in thought at what his dream had meant. He had always dreamed of swords and fire as they were as much a part of him as anything else. But that figure. It reminded him of somebody, but he struggled to remember their name or what they might have looked like.

Shirou pushed the thought away for the moment. He had to get ready for work. It was his first day as the new member of the custodial staff at Beacon. He swung his legs out from underneath the covers of his cot, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He took a moment to reflect on everything that had happened the previous night as his feet rested on the cool tile floor beneath his bed frame. He remembered saving those two women, how they had fed them, how he skipped out before they could do more, and finally Ozpin, his new boss, approaching him and offering him a job, the subsequent interview, and finally agreeing to help fight another war. He couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he thought of Rin and how he had gotten involved in the last war he had fought.

He stood up and crossed his small room towards the wardrobe four feet from his bed. His grey uniform, a large white patch with markings that designated him as part of the staff on his back, was pressed and folded neatly. Slipping into his pants and tightening his belt, he considered what Ozpin had asked of him, of keeping his abilities a secret for the moment, of being a secret weapon in a conflict he feared was fast approaching. Shirou could understand the tactic; he had been forced to employ it himself in the Holy Grail War. All the masters had. After all, if such vital information was shared, their enemies could easily come up with a plan to capitalize on any weaknesses or find a way to nullify any advantage they might have had.

As he looked around the small, windowless, and barren room, Shirou pulled on his tool belt, grabbed his mop and bucket, and headed out for the day.

* * *

In another wing of the academy, a captive audience of huntsmen-in-training sat, frantically trying to keep pace with their quick tongued professor as they wrote down the lecture's notes. The professor took a quick drink from his thermos as he seemed to blur around the classroom, resuming his lesson with a manic pace, making his words near undecipherable.

"And as they held back the horde of Goliaths, aide came in the form of the great war hero, Charles Arc." He paused for a second, considering something before seeming to realize something. "In fact, I think Mister Arc could tell us something about him. He was, in fact, your grandfather, was he not?" The class collectively paused at that before turning as one to look at the young, unassuming blonde.

Jaune listened to the whispers around him, asking each other if he was really the blood relative of one of the war's greatest heroes and saying that maybe there was actually something to the otherwise unimpressive huntsman wannabe. Jaune tried to think of anything that he could say, trying to remember any of the times his grandfather had tried to tell him and his sisters some old war stories.

"Sorry Professor-" Jaune tried to explain that he was too young to be able to remember any of his grandpa's stories before he had passed away, but he was interrupted suddenly.

"Doctor! I am a doctor, not some mere professor! How many times do I have to tell you children?" Oobleck cried outraged.

Jaune slumped his head into his arms as he heard some of the whispers dissolve into quiet giggles. Just once, he wanted people to not compare him to his family's legacy. He was tired of all the pressure. If he didn't get it at home where he was surrounded by seven younger sisters, he got it in class where he was surrounded by a multitude of huntsmen-in-training who were much more competent than him. At least his partner, Pyrrha, wasn't obsessed with his lineage, though the way she tried to baby him was insufferable at times. It wasn't like he didn't appreciate the help, but the way that she looked at him with pity lately as his progress slowed down made him feel like he wasn't worth the effort.

Before the outraged doctor could continue his rant any further, the bell rang. "Class dismissed. Just remember the assignment on a war hero of your choice is due next class," Oobleck grumbled loud enough for his students to hear. His mutterings as he walked out the door to his next class were inaudible, but those that cared to listen were slightly intimidated.

"Well, at least you're guaranteed an A in this paper, right Jaune?" Nora's voice bubbled from behind him. He turned to face her, only to find her less than an inch away from his face. Surprised, he stumbled backwards. That proved to be a mistake as he tripped over a chair behind him, catching his head on one of the corners of a seat. Taking a moment to stop the world from spinning, Jaune looked up at his most excitable teammate looking sheepish as she helped pick him up from the floor. "Sorry, I didn't think that would happen," she apologize. Brushing some non-existent dust from off his lapel, she asked "Are you okay?"

As the two Noras slowly merged together, Jaune replied with a "I'm fine." He reached a hand behind his head to check for a bump, feeling a wetness that wasn't there before. As he and Nora looked at the blood on his fingers, Nora started wailing, yelling "I'm sorry!" over and over again until Jaune stopped her. "Really Nora, I'm fine. Look. My aura already healed it, see?" He parted the hair on the back of his head to show her that the wound had indeed healed. Jaune watched as his teammate switched from crying to smiling brightly.

"So how about it? Your grandpa's Charles Arc, right?" Seeing her leader nod hesitantly, she exclaimed, "Then you've got this assignment in the bag!"

Jaune sighed. "Yeah Nora, I've got it in the bag. Let's just go to our next class, okay?" He moved towards the door, meeting with the other members of his team just outside in the hall. They traveled in comfortable silence towards their next classes with Nora excitably sharing her plans for their next combat class together. "Sorry guys, my next one's this way. I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Their plans made, Jaune raced down the hallway. In his rush, he didn't notice the sign placed to the side, cautioning those who traveled down this path.

He slipped on the wet floor.

When Jaune came to, he found himself looking into a pair of frantic-looking golden brown eyes. His head throbbed when he tried to move, so he opted to lay still and let his aura repair any damage he had incurred. The guy hovering over him looked to be about his age though Jaune was certainly taller by about a good five or so inches. He felt oddly proud of that for some reason. "Are you alright?" He was also very loud. He did not feel proud of that. In fact, he felt annoyed. And a lot of pain. If hard pressed to answer, he would say it was about half and half between the two.

"Please be quiet," Jaune hissed, his eyes screwed shut in anguish. He could feel the skin on the back of his head knit itself back together for the second time that day. Jaune was worried about that. As his mother used to say, things came in threes. He'd spend the rest of his day looking over his shoulder for any sign of danger to his dome. Jaune sighed as he felt the last bits of flesh form in place. He looked back up at the worried boy in front of him.

He was out of uniform, which was dangerous for a student. The rules were very clear that you had to wear your student uniform at all times during the day. Nobody would dare say it aloud, but it was popularly thought that Miss Goodwitch seemed to delight in catching students who broke that rule. However, when she caught two of them breaking that rule at the same time, there was no delight.

There was only fury.

Jaune sat up quickly, catching the other guy off guard. He wondered why that was for a second as he watched him fluster and tried to keep him still. It wasn't like he was still really hurt or anything. Huntsmen brushed off much worse than a possible concussion all the time. Still, he pushed the thought aside as he tried to warn the guy about his imminent doom. After all, even if he didn't know to be quiet near people recovering from blunt force trauma, he had still stayed around to help him.

"Hey man, I don't know if you're skipping a class or not, but you should at least stay in uniform until you get off campus. If Miss Goodwitch catches you like this, she'll have your head." The redhead looked puzzled for a second, before smiling.

"That's alright. I think I'll be fine."

"No, you don't understand. It's like Miss Goodwitch has eyes everywhere. You should change back... to..." The words in his mouth died off slowly as he took another good look at the guy. He wasn't wearing a student's uniform because he was wearing a grey uniform that no student wore.

He was wearing a janitor's outfit.

The other teen stood up from where he was kneeling over Jaune and extended a hand down towards where he was propped up against the wall. Jaune took it and was pulled up. He took a moment to wonder if this could have been him if he hadn't been born an Arc. It wasn't like he had any real battle skills to his name besides what he had copied from Pyrrha and the only things he was really good at were housework. He thanked the other guy and was about to ask for his name when the bell rang.

Jaune hopped and turned around in place, looking down the hall towards where his class was. "Shit! I'm late! I've got to leg it!" He took a runner's stance and launched himself towards his class, but as he took off, he felt something pull on the collar of his jacket. He felt the threads under his arms strain against his weight and his feet slide out from underneath him. They kicked out from his body and caught the edge of a bucket filled grimy water, spilling it all over the floor and soaking into his clothes as he lay on the floor.

"Hey, be careful!" He heard the janitor above him cry out. "You've already slipped and hurt yourself once. Don't do it again! Are you okay?" Affirming the kid that he was fine, Jaune looked down at the floor. Indeed, the floor was still wet, even more so now that the bucket was emptied out onto the floor. He felt guilty about making it so that the poor janitor would have to redo all his work, but he was terrified by the late of being late to his next class. He picked himself up and carefully walked away as fast as he could. As he was about turn the corner, he looked back down the hallway at the janitor who had already begun soaking up all the spilled water.

"Thanks man! Sorry about the bucket!" Jaune called out. Before the wall cut off his line of sight, he saw the redhead wave at him before going back to his mopping. Once he got far enough away, his walk turned into a jog, which turned into a run. It wasn't long before Jaune was sprinting headlong before finally coming to the classroom door. He took a second to compose himself and wipe the sweat from his brow before he opened the door as stealthily as he could manage.

"Mister Arc, you're late," a sharp haughty tone rang out. That just wasn't fair. He hadn't even opened the door more than two inches yet! He gave up any pretense of stealth and opened the door the rest of the way. When he walked in, the other students were barely keeping from laughing at him; only the unspoken threat of punishment kept them from openly bawling at his appearance and situation. In addition to being red-faced and sweaty from his running, the entire back of Jaune's jacket and pants was soaked. He couldn't begrudge them finding humor in what he looked like. He did look awful.

"Take your seat Mister Arc. We'll talk about why you were late after class while you're doing detention." Miss Goodwitch was the only one besides him in the room to not find anything funny in the situation.

"Miss Goodwitch, I was-" He tried to defend himself but was cut off.

"Mister Arc." Her voice brooked no argument. Groaning slightly, Jaune trudged to the front of the class, the laughter and whispers growing in volume as he did so until it was almost like everybody was talking at once. He sat next to Ruby who looked sympathetic to his plight, looking at him with pitying eyes. She didn't say anything though as Miss Goodwitch continued with the days lesson in adapting to one's environment. She was probably too scared to bring attention to herself. He didn't blame her; the others were being particularly vicious today.

Suddenly, blinding pain blanketed his vision, turning the world almost entirely white as something collided with the back of his skull. He didn't know when he had decided to put his head down on the desk, but it had apparently been a good idea. He let the cool surface of the wooden desk try and soothe the splitting headache that had cropped up. He let his eyes swim until they rested on a small stapler. Made of metal with sharp corners, one of which was red, the deceptively small stapler lay at rest on the floor as if to deny any accusations. At least the whispering had stopped.

"Mister Winchester!" None wanted to face the owner of that voice that gave the impression of death warming a grave. One student in particular, with big meaty arms and brown cropped hair, sat frozen in place. His eyes seemed almost disbelieving as he looked at Jaune who didn't seem to be moving aside; he'd almost think he had killed him if he didn't see the movements of his back steadily rising and falling. Miss Goodwitch strode with slow deliberate steps until she was towering over Cardin, locking eyes with him the entire way.

"We will have words after class." Her emerald eyes swung over to where Jaune sat, one side of his head flush against the desk. She could see a small rivulet of blood poor down one side, but she could see a patch of hair colored slightly darker than the rest. He had been injured before he came to class. Her frown softened as she watched Jaune groan in pain for a moment. "Miss Rose, would you take Mister Arc to infirmary." It wasn't a suggestion or a request.

Ruby nodded fearfully before standing and looping her friend's arm over her shoulder. As she struggled to the door, Miss Goodwitch turned her attention back towards Cardin for a several long seconds before walking back to the front of the classroom to resume her lesson. Slowly, the two past through the door before slowly trudging down towards the infirmary.

"You alright there, Jaune? I gotta make sure you're not gonna pass out on me or anything like that, okay?" Ruby looked toward the first friend she had made at Beacon as they moved down the halls. Jaune hadn't said anything for a while and if he had a concussion, it could lead to some disastrous results. All in all, his behavior was scaring her, though she knew he would never mean to do so on purpose. Listening closely, she heard a few mumblings that he was alright. She also thought she heard something about triplets and mothers. Ruby liked Jaune, but if he was confessing to her, she feared for his safety. It wasn't because he might have a concussion, but because of what Yang would do to him if she found out about it.

Eventually, as they walked to the medical wing of the academy, Jaune recovered some, even managing to walk mostly under his own power. Jaune thanked her for her help and let her go back to class. The doctor on staff examined his head wound, but thankfully prescribed it as a minor blow and that it would fully heal by the end of the day. The doctor wrote Jaune a note, cleaned and bandaged the wound, and told him to go sleep it off in his dorm room. Jaune shed most of his clothes, some of which had dried off, before he slowly climbed under the covers.

As he slept, he dreamed of heroic deeds and fighting wars.


	3. Scouring

**RWBY is property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night is property of Type-Moon. I create this for fun, not profit... Please don't sue me. I don't have anything.**

* * *

**"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." **

The light of the shattered moon fell onto the marble floor of the office lined with gears. Two figures, a boy and an old man, stood at the epicenter. They stood tall and proud, their eyes closed in near silent concentration. The man began to glow with a brilliant green glow that banished the darkness near them.

**"Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death."**

The man had grasped the shoulder of the boy, searching for something deep within him. His aura, the light of his soul, sank deep, reaching out for its brother within this boy with hair the color of flames.

**"I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."**

Ozpin opened his eyes and looked at Shirou. He pulled his hand away from Shirou's shoulder and gave a deep sigh. He turned away from Shirou and rubbed at his brow. His levels of aura had not dipped at all like they would in a successful unlocking. The ritual had failed.

However, Shirou didn't open his eyes. He was still examining his own spiritual state. His magic circuits were untouched, but he didn't feel any different. If he had a new energy source to deal with, he couldn't sense it. "Headmaster, I don't think it worked."

Shirou only confirmed what Ozpin had feared. Shirou was without aura. Ozpin took a moment to ponder the full extent of this. Shirou would be defenseless and he wouldn't be able to ever use dust as Nature's Wrath required the light of the soul to actually use it. It was an incredibly strange situation as all beings with a soul had the capacity to utilize aura, even animals. Only the creatures of Grimm didn't have it. At least until Shirou came along. Still, given what the boy had shown and told him, he wouldn't be completely defenseless.

"Perhaps our worlds are far more different than we had first thought." At Shirou's furrowing of his brow, he continued saying, "It is entirely possible that our physiology is different, making it so that you are incapable of our aural techniques. In the same manner, it is most likely that we, the people of Remnant, are incapable of using your sorcery."

"Magecraft, not sorcery," Shirou mumbled absentmindedly as he considered this new information.

"Oh? What's the difference?"

Shirou blinked. The inquisitive tone in Ozpin's question sounded sincere. It reminded him of when he first started learning from his dad. Quoting from those long past lessons, Shirou explained. "Sorcery is magic that cannot be replicated by mundane means. With my magecraft, I am able to recreate swords for instance. A blacksmith is easily able to replicate this feat with a hammer and a forge. However, feats such as time travel or bringing the dead back to life is impossible with mundane resources. Those who can do so are known as sorcerers."

Time travel? Reanimation? Such things were possible? Ozpin's mind boggled at such thoughts.

"Besides, even if you could use magecraft, I'm not entirely sure that teaching people how to use it would be a good idea." Shirou had the decency to look sheepish at this. He knew that such an idea could easily be considered selfish, even more so considering that the people of Remnant needed every tool possible to survive this dangerous world.

"Why not?" Ozpin's tone was not sharp, merely confused. In the short time that he had known the boy, he had come to understand that Shirou was a kind soul. The refusal of teaching others a new way to defend themselves went against what he thought Shirou believed in. It was puzzling to say the least.

"The way it was explained to me was that the strength of magic is communal, providing drastically reduced effects the more it is used by other people. Imagine having a spell that could create a pound of gold over the course of a year. Well, if somebody else learned that spell, instead of having a pound of gold, you would have half of a pound. If a hundred people learned it, you'd have a hundredth of a pound of gold, and so on."

Ozpin nodded. It seemed to make sense, and regardless, the probability of him being able to use magic was very slim given that Shirou couldn't use aura. Nonetheless, it probably couldn't hurt to try. "Is there any way to tell for sure?"

"I suppose. Though to be honest, I am... well," Shirou faltered. It was a little embarrassing to admit it openly, but it was the truth. He had already accepted it himself. "I am a poor magus. I could never learn anything beyond projection. Honestly, my only real credit as a user of magecraft is that I have Unlimited Blade Works. However, I can still use a basic skill called Structural Grasping. I can use it to analyze structural composition, so I could probably use it to see if you have magic circuits in your body."

"Alright. How do we go about this?" Ozpin felt confident enough that he could defend himself in the worst case scenario. If he was hurt in any way, his aura could heal him easily enough.

Shirou held a hand out to his boss. "All I need is your hand." Grasping the white haired man's proffered fingers, Shirou felt his circuits hum to life. He closed his eyes as he started concentrating. "Trace on." His prana filled Ozpin's body, mapping out every tissue, every muscle in him. However, Ozpin was dead on in his theory. He didn't have any circuits. Shirou sighed, letting go of Ozpin's hand. "Looks like you were right. You don't have-Are you alright?"

Ozpin had seen everything. The moment Shirou's magic entered his body, he was shown the boy's, no, man's memories. He had seen the fire, the promise to his father, the red spear plunging deep within his heart, the cruel cackling of the witch, the love he shared with the girl, the fight with the King of Heroes, and his ultimate sacrifice that brought him to this world. Ozpin stumbled backwards, leaning heavily against the desk. As Shirou moved to his side to see what was the matter, he wondered if he could truly ask so much of this man who had already given so much, who reminded him so much of the children he watched over.

Who reminded him of when he himself was young.

"Don't..." Ozpin struggled to speak, his mind rattled by the sudden and forceful intake of knowledge. "Don't ever do that again. To anyone. Ever." The sheer authority in his voice and the keenness in his gaze gave Shirou pause, who wondered at what had just happened. It was only because of his past experiences that Ozpin had not crumbled under the traumas that this man so young had experienced when they had washed over him all at once.

He prayed that nobody else would ever see those memories.

* * *

"Blake, come on. You've been studying those things for hours. Let's go spar." Yang Xiao Long was becoming more and more concerned for her partner with each passing day. Hunting down the White Fang had become more than a goal for her. Blake was barely sleeping anymore and her combat performance was noticeably slipping. Ruby and Weiss had been trying all day to get her to rest or at least do something relaxing, but they had been totally ignored by the girl who had been swallowed up by this obsession.

Just like Yang was being ignored now.

Yang moved to the opposite side of the library table where Blake had set up shop and took off her jacket. She easily brushed off the stares from the few boys in the otherwise empty library and covered the maps that her partner was utterly absorbed in. Blake jumped back slightly in shock, blinking heavily before realizing what Yang had done.

"What? I'm busy," Blake ground out, angry at being interrupted. She took the jacket, tossed it aside onto the floor, and realigned her slightly shuffled maps.

Yang let the jacket lay where it was crumpled up. She had Blake's attention now and she wasn't about to let it go lest she lose her again. "You need to take a break." Yang was usually the relaxed one of the team, letting life happen as it would and being lax with a lot of responsibilities. Right now, that wasn't the case. Getting into what Ruby affectionately called 'Big Sister Mode,' she matched Blake's annoyed glare with a stern look.

"I'll take a break when we stop them." She didn't need to say who. They both knew who she was talking about and saying the name aloud would draw unnecessary attention.

"And you'll also take one now. Look at yourself. When was the last time you even slept?" Yang was not one for subtlety. When she argued, it was loud and often violent. Thankfully, she managed to reign in her temper before she destroyed something. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to spare her from the irate librarian yelling at her to get out. Yang took one look at the triumphant smirk that had settled on Blake's face before storming out, cursing wildly under her breath.

Outside the double doors of the library, she was greeted by Weiss. "Did she listen to you?" The duelist looked behind Yang, hoping to see their friend in tow.

"No," Yang muttered. "She's being stubborn as hell. I swear, if she didn't have to go to class or eat, she'd sleep in there."

Weiss sighed. Yang had been sort of their team's last hope at reaching her directly. The brawler knew the ninja the best, but if that had failed...

"I don't know what to do anymore." It was hard for her to admit. Weiss had always prided on excelling in every subject, at overcoming every obstacle. Her admitting defeat like this was a black mark on her pride, made only worse by the fact that she had sworn an oath that she would be there to help her friend.

"Well, we still have time. At least we can try and get her to come to the dance." Yang watched with some happiness as Weiss perked up a little at that. The two of them had been tasked with overseeing the preparations for the dance. Any other time, Yang would have dreaded the task, but this was a chance to get closer to her friend. She floundered with trying to find an activity or common interest that they shared, but it seemed that the dance was the perfect opportunity to get closer to the only person on the team she felt distant to.

Then Blake had gone mental.

Now, everybody's thoughts were about how they could save Blake from herself, Yang's especially. She knew what it was like to be driven by a burning passion, only to have it almost destroy her.

A shriek of righteous fury erupted besides her, jarring Yang from her thoughts. While they had been lost in thought, the pair had turned a corner blindly and Weiss had accidentally gotten her pristine white boots caught in a soapy metal bucket. In that brief moment of confusion where her brain tried to process what had happened, she tried kicking the bucket off her foot. The only thing that had accomplished was throwing dirty water and suds all over her combat attire.

"Stop! Calm down! You'll only make it worse!" A male voice cried out. A guy their age came up from behind them holding a mop. He knelt down besides Weiss, his pant legs soaking in the water spilled out onto the floor. He didn't even try to look up Weiss' skirt as he gently but quickly pried the bucket off her foot. Yang was impressed; most guys would have tried to sneak a peek on one of the school's most sought after women. Still, his gentlemanly behavior didn't save him from Weiss' wrath.

"You jerk! What are you doing?" Her normally pale face was awash with red, her fury coming to full bear against this... this pervert who came from out of nowhere. She was glad that the ruffles of her combat skirt were specially designed to protect her modesty with her aerial maneuvers in mind, otherwise this scum would have gotten a free look at her underwear.

Yang watched as the guy stood up, Weiss menacing in his face. He set the bucket down before replying, an annoyed look on his face after he went to the trouble of helping her. "I was just getting my bucket off you. I don't know why you're yelling at me when it's your fault. It seems a little ungrateful, especially when you got filth everywhere." It was true. Weiss hadn't only gotten her dress wet, but the floors and even the walls as well. At least Weiss had the decency to look embarrassed, the righteous red fury reduced to a light dusting of pink as she averted her gaze. "Maaah, now I have to reclean everything."

Taking a moment to examine him now their excitement had died down a little, the two realized that he was wearing a janitor's uniform. It certainly explained the mop. The pink on Weiss' face deepened as Yang palmed her own face.

"I'm really sorry," Weiss apologized. It was her fault and she now realized that he had actually been a gentleman. An idea sparked in her mind. "Here, I'll fix it for you." Weiss drew Myrtenaster and spun the chamber to her weapon, the janitor looking at it intently. The chamber settled on a vial of deep blue dust and Weiss took a stance. A large glyph formed in front of her as she swung her rapier, surprising the red-haired kid. The grime lifted off of the walls, forming a torrent of dirty water as it launched itself into the bucket. That dust had been somewhat expensive, but it was the least she could do. Besides, she had a literal mine of the stuff back home, so it was easily replaced.

The guy was stunned with the ease of cleaning, before shaking his head and smiling. "If I could do that, this job would be so easy." The joke cleared the air and drew smiles from both of the girls.

"I really am sorry," Weiss repeated. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company." A brief look of confusion passed over his face, but Weiss was not totally surprised. Her family's company, while also dealing in some minor trades such as beauty products, was mostly known to huntsmen due to their dealings in dust. A guy outside of their targeted demographic probably wouldn't have heard of her family's company.

"And I'm Yang. Yang Xiao Long, and don't you forget it," Yang excitably claimed as she leaned on her much shorter teammate, drawing a small scowl from the white haired beauty. In contrast, her expression was much friendly, a toothy grin that only grew when the janitor's smile widened in response.

The guy bowed at the waist slightly. "My name is Emiya Shirou. It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Shirou looked back at the bucket and considered it for a second. His gaze moved back towards the heiress'. "That really was amazing." It was a good introduction to what huntsmen were really capable of. He had tried unsuccessfully for the past couple of days to watch some of the training that went on here, only to be utterly unsuccessful.

"Well, of course. All huntsmen-in-training are able to do that." Weiss haughtily replied, only for Shirou to take a sudden step back, a strange look on his face. "Are you ok?" Weiss asked, slightly concerned for this guy who hadn't acted like a total jackass like most of the boys in this school did.

Shirou caught himself in painful memory. "Uh, yeah." His smile turned bitter sweet as he thought of the girl he had fallen in love with saying the almost exact same thing. "You just reminded me of somebody I know is all." He was looking at the bucket now. He couldn't stand looking into those eyes that reminded him so much of her. They were even the same color. An awkward silence hung in the air.

Yang didn't do awkward silences.

"So how long have you been here at Beacon?" She cheerfully asked, trying to change the conversation away from what looked like an obviously painful subject. She didn't know if he was being bullied by that somebody or what, but he obviously didn't wanna talk about it.

Shirou was grateful to the beautiful blonde and took the obvious out. "Well, actually I just got hired here a couple of days ago."

"Oh, just like those three that got here a couple of days ago." The boy, Mercury, had been kinda cute and Emerald had that signature green hair, but the one that really came to Yang's mind was Cinder with her jaw-dropping beauty. Shirou had no idea who Yang was talking about, but he nodded along anyway.

"Well, it was pleasant meeting you, Emiya. Unfortunately, we made plans with some friends to go to town this afternoon," Weiss politely said. While she appreciated him not being a jerk like some other people she knew, she really did not want to associate herself any further with a janitor. "So unfortunately, we have to leave. Good day." She gave him a brief curtsey and started walking down the hall towards her dorm room.

"Yeah, Short Stuff. It was really cool meeting you." Shirou looked a little put out at the remark to his height. With him standing at a stout five foot six, Yang easily had a good amount of height over him. "See ya around, alright?" Waving goodbye at the redhead, she jogged slightly to catch up to the heiress. As she did, she couldn't help but feel that she had forgotten something. A series of thuds to her right caught her attention. A group of boys were lying down on the floor, goofy smiles on their faces and blood leaking slightly from their noses. Yang looked on in confusion before a brief chill washed over her almost bare shoulders.

"Crap. I forgot my jacket."

* * *

The sound of metal striking metal rang out. A display panel hung on the wall, showing the late time and a sliver of yellow next to a red bar. Though several figures were moving throughout the room, only one was actually breathing hard from exertion. His blonde hair clung to his forehead as he tried to dodge and parry blows from silvery recreations of his kind's greatest enemies, his eyes moving wildly as he tried to measure and predict their movements.

A flash of steel and he was on the ground, the air rushing out of his lungs from the impact. A loud buzzer sounded and the robots stopped, moving back to their places. The ones he had hacked into pieces glowed slightly, a slight scratch of metal against metal as gears and wires reconnected to their rightful place. One didn't fully repair itself, an orange light turning on its forehead as its small tin voice announced it was out of dust.

Jaune sighed as he continued to lay down on the floor of the training hall. While he had vastly improved since first coming to Beacon, he felt like his progress was slowly starting to grind to a halt. When he told Pyrrha about it, she had laughed it off. She told him that he was doing fine, that it was just in his mind, that he was still making progress in leaps and bounds. A few weeks later, Pyrrha wasn't saying that anymore. Now, she just looked concerned and, when pressed for an actual answer, admitted that she didn't know what could be the problem. He hadn't gone to anyone else about it. He couldn't. That would just be more trouble than it was worth.

Jaune didn't get many nights to himself like tonight. Pyrrha was busy with a weekly night class, and instead of doing what he would have done before coming to the academy, he started practicing on his own. Naturally, he had started sneaking into one of the training halls. The students had been explicitly forbidden from practicing by themselves by Miss Goodwitch, claiming that there could easily be a malfunction or bug by these relatively new simulations and that there could be disastrous results if nobody knew where they were. So Jaune hadn't told anybody about this.

Not even Pyrrha knew about it.

He'd feel guilty about it if it wasn't working. Before, Jaune could barely handle the easiest training program the computer had. Now, he was almost at a benchmark he had set for himself at the beginning of the year, a simulation where even Pyrrha herself started to falter when she was practicing by herself.

Jaune picked himself off of the floor and breathed in deeply. He regretted that decision almost immediately, his nose wrinkling. The smell of blood, sweat, and oil was not entirely pleasant. He moved towards the door leading to the observatory room where the main console was located. After taking a long pull of that sweet and clear water from his now nearly empty bottle, he sat himself down heavily on a bench and interacted with the machine.

He froze in place when the heavy door behind him unlocked and swung open, the sound echoing in his head like a death sentence. He turned around and thanked to whatever entity was watching over him when he saw that it wasn't Goodwitch, but instead was that red-headed janitor kid. Still, he wasn't supposed to be here.

Shirou froze when he saw the blonde kid from a few days ago who hurt himself badly. Nobody was supposed to be in here. "Ah, don't mind me. I'm just here to clean."

Not being immediately reprimanded was a good thing in Jaune's book. It meant that he had a good chance of not getting in trouble. "Uhhh... Go right ahead," Jaune replied somewhat uneasily.

The redhead pulled a cart out from behind the door, its surface laden with various bottles and rags. Jaune nearly gagged when the strong smell of bleach and other cleaning materials were added to the other pungent smells in the room. He watched as the janitor moved into the simulation room and started mopping the floor. Jaune wasn't in any hurry to get back to training as he waited for his aura to replenish itself. As a built-in safety precaution, the computer wouldn't start any simulation if it knew there were other people in the room who didn't have a minimum level of aura available. He was content for the moment to just watch lazily as the guy cleaned the floor of any stains.

Shirou moved from corner to corner of the room until he came across the fallen body of the mechanical beast. It looked like a Beowolf from what he could remember from his brief stay in the Emerald Forest, the only difference being the dented and scratched metal carapace instead of the black fur and gleaming white bone.

He carefully dragged the robot into the other room so as not to leave scratches as he went. Shirou walked back into the room where the blonde kid sat. "Ok, I'm done in that room. You can get back to your training in there."

Jaune smiled in appreciation. It looked like he wouldn't get in trouble tonight. "Thanks." He got back up, punched a big red button on the face of the console, and started walking towards the door. Before he walked in, he paused and turned back towards the kid who had already started wiping down the seats. "Ahhh, thanks by the way. I mean, I'm sorry." The janitor looked up, confused at the weird statement. "The other day, when I accidentally knocked over your bucket. By the way, I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc."

Shirou straightened himself at that before smiling amiably. "My name is Shirou, and it's alright. It didn't take me long to fix it. I'm just glad to see you're able to start training again so soon. Besides, you're not actually the only person to knock it over."

Jaune laughed slightly at that, glad to hear that there was somebody else in the school who was as clumsy as he was. His conscious abated, he walked proudly into the middle of the training room. He linked up his scroll to the monitor, his aura displayed prominently at around a third of its maximum capacity.

The buzzer sounded and, immediately, Jaune was on the defensive as mechanical Beowolves sprang forth. A series of swipes came in from his left and Jaune rolled forward, dodging the assault. A staggeringly huge giant suddenly took up the entirety of his view. A large set paw came from above him and Jaune raised his sword to push the attack away.

A sudden pain came in from behind as a set of claws raked across his back. Gritting his teeth, he whirled around, his sword a blur as it caught the Beowolf across its face. He rolled again, desperate to gain as much distance between himself and his opponents. Having regained a little breathing space, Jaune counted the number of threats he had to deal with. It looked like he had an Ursa and four Beowolves to deal with.

The Beowolves rushed at him while the Ursa slowly paced to flank him from behind. Jaune found himself continuously on the defensive from the Beowolves' attack, only lashing out when he was sure he wouldn't get punished for it. The flash of the sharp metal edges moved almost too fast for his eyes to follow kept Jaune's attention. It was for that reason that he was caught unaware by the powerful punch of the Ursa in his blind spot, draining away the last of his aura that had been slowly dwindling from the continuous onslaught of the Beowolves. The buzzer sounded again and the robots returned to their original positions.

Jaune couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Damnit! What am I doing wrong?" Jaune yelled, angry at himself for having done even worse than the last attempt. He pounded at the floor with the pommel of Crocea Mors, the dull thud of metal meeting stone echoing throughout the large chamber. Tears of frustration welled up in his eyes as he continued to mentally berate himself.

"You're not using your shield right," a voice suddenly chimed in. Jaune looked up in surprise. Shirou was standing in the doorway, his mop held in both hands as he leaned against the doorjamb.

"What? What do you mean? I use my shield just fine." Jaune defended himself. Pyrrha had taught him how to use his shield for maximum effect on the battle field. In his mind, he replayed his every move. He had used his shield to maximum effect.

"Your shield collapses into a sheathe, right? You can use that to make it less awkward when rolling and save some energy. You can also use it as a blunt edged weapon due to its durability as a shield. Also, when you do use it as shield, you don't block as often as you can. You parry too often with your sword and that wears down on your strength." The lecture came easy to Shirou. After all, he spoke nothing but the truth. The moment he had laid eyes on Crocea Mors, he had learned everything about it like every other weapon he saw. He knew how it was created. He knew its history.

He knew every one of the techniques that its previous wielders developed in order to use it to its fullest potential. He didn't let the blonde teen on the floor in front of him know that however. He was trying to maintain his cover as a janitor and keep his abilities as much a secret as possible.

So why was he helping him?

Thinking about it, he had to say it was because Jaune reminded him of himself. When he saw all of the sword's history, he saw all the desperation and resolve that its current wielder had, all of his aspirations and hopes, all of his shortcomings and failures. Jaune wanted to be a hero as much as Shirou did, like his grandfather and his father before him.

Shirou couldn't help but respect that.

So he did the one thing that nobody had ever done for him. He gave Jaune a little help and encouragement.

Jaune got up off of the floor and examined Crocea Mors' sheathe like he never had before. Sure enough, there were scuff marks on the edges of the family heirloom. He looked back towards the door, only to find that Shirou had left. As he sat there on the cold stone floor, he could only wonder at how that kid who was barely his age had known so much more about his weapon than he did.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**It is in the wake of the passing of a great man that I write this. We all find ourselves lost in sorrow, wondering what could have been and remembering what was. To those at Rooster Teeth if any of you are reading this, I wish to express my condolences to you. I, too, am familiar with the loss of a loved one, and I know that their sudden disappearance leaves a rift in your life. In fact, I recently lost my best friend of ten years recently, which is in part of why I have been slow in updating this story.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


	4. Divergence

**RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night is property of Type-Moon. I am but a poor writer and, as such, own nothing... Wait... Awwwww... Now I've made myself sad.**

**The more things stay the same, the more they change.**

* * *

Jaune was standing next to Goodwitch, facing the other students up in the stands that overlooked the arena floor. On the wall behind him, the large monitor showed, on one side, a bright green bar underneath his photo. The other side held an empty frame, the bar beneath it devoid of color.

"Mister Arc, who would you like to face off against?" Goodwitch asked him. Her green eyes remained on her Scroll, her fingers deftly brushing against it. Jaune couldn't see what was on it, but if he had to guess, he'd probably say she was looking at a roster of all the other students attending today. He could see his team silently cheering him on in the stands. Flashing them a quick smile, he thanked them. After seeing Weiss ask out Neptune last night, he kind of needed the support. Just the sight of her sitting up in the stands made him feel depressed. He had never stood a chance with her. Even the janitor was a better fighter than him.

The more he thought about it though, the more he wondered why. Why hadn't she even given him a chance? Since day one, she had belittled and humiliated him. What had he ever done to her to deserve that? He had shown her nothing but kindness and admiration. He understood that maybe sometimes he was a bit obnoxious, but damnit, he had always had the best of intentions at heart. His grip on his sword tightened and his shield trembled at his side.

"I want to fight Weiss."

A hush fell over the crowd. Even Goodwitch looked somewhat taken aback. Jaune's infatuation with the young heiress was well known to all who paid even the slightest bit of attention to how the guy acted around her. In fact, there was something of a betting pool on his chances with her, ranging from the acceptance of his feelings to the more popular outright rejection. Rumor had it that Professor Port was the only one to bet on Mister Arc succeeding with the girl.

"I accept," Weiss' voice called out from the stands. The white-haired huntress-in-training stood from her seat in the front row next to her teammates and made her way to the girls' locker room to get ready. All could see that vicious smile on her face, her hooded eyes announcing to the world that she was prepared to trounce the dunce.

He could see the concerned looks of his teammates. Pyrrha had her hand to her mouth, seemingly shocked by his declaration of battle. Nora, nervously talking to Ren as she was, watched the blonde boy from the corner of her eye. Ren's head was tilted slightly as he listened to Nora, his brow furrowed deeply as he watched his leader. Turning slightly towards his teammates, he gave them a silent nod. At that, their anxiety seemed to dwindle a little. They seemed to understand what he meant at least.

This wasn't an attempt to win her over. This was for him. He needed to beat Weiss, to show both her and himself that he didn't need her. Her actions last night had not been meant to hurt him, but they had shown him that he was never going to have her. Not as a lover, maybe not even as a friend. Yes, this was, in part, revenge for everything she had said and done to him over the past year, but it was also just as much validation for him. If Jaune could do this, he could move on.

He had to do this.

Weiss returned to the floor, Myrtenaster at her hip. She took her placed across from Jaune, Goodwitch between the two of them as their referee. She drew her weapon as Jaune took a battle stance of his own. Her name appeared on the monitor, green filling the empty bar all the way to the brim. Her mind raced, looking for weaknesses in the goof's style. She'd give him this: he'd been working on his technique at least some. There were far fewer openings now than when he first started in the year. Still, she would defeat him. She was a Schnee.

"Begin!"

Weiss dashed forward, her glyphs propelling her forward through the air just inches above the ground. Her rapier sang as it sliced through the air, a sharp note crying out from it as Jaune struck it from below with the blade of Crocea Mors to send it wailing above his head. She twirled, bringing her blade closer to her and pushing herself off Jaune's shield as he tried to bash her with it. She righted herself a few feet away before rushing to charge in again at him.

Jaune was ready for her. Myrtenaster came at his throat, howling as it ripped through the air. He caught it with his shield, stopping the blow cold. He watched as Weiss dodged his slice at her midriff by crouching into a kneel, ducking underneath his strike. As soon as he saw the glyph begin to form under her feet, he knew he only had moments to take control of the fight. If he continued to stay on the defensive, he'd never win. He knew she was faster, and that she knew it as well. She'd continue to pick at his aura until he lost, so he did something she'd never expect from him.

He fought dirty.

Technically, there were no rules in this match. In the wilderness of Remnant, huntsmen had to do anything they could in order to win against the Grimm. If you didn't, you died. Simple as that. Still, Weiss was completely surprised when Jaune's knee brutally caught her in the cheek. The glyph beneath her activated and she was launched backwards instead of straight up where another glyph had formed, prepared to launch her behind her opponent and wreck him. She landed on her seat some distance from her opponent, but instead of choosing to get back up, she looked at him with bewildered eyes.

Wasn't she the girl he claimed he loved? Where was the usual affection that he regarded her with? When did he get somewhat competent? Those thoughts and several others similar to them ran through her mind. Now she noticed his expression, which had not changed throughout the match. His eyes were hard, slanted in fierce determination as he looked down at her from the floor. His mouth was set in a fierce scowl. Perhaps... Perhaps Weiss had been a little too rough with her rejection last night. Still, he had deserved it for even thinking that guitar was a good idea.

His opponent wasn't getting up, but that was fine with him. If she wanted to sit right there and take it, he wasn't going to stop her. He had already given her so much, why not let this be the final bit? Jaune charged with a loud roar, his shield brought to bear in front of him and sword raised high. His yell seemed to snap her out of daze and she rolled out of the way of his overhead strike.

Weiss got up into a crouch after she tumbled away. If she could disarm the buffoon, her chances of winning would dramatically increase. No matter how much she had upset him, even if it was wrongfully so, he would pay for humiliating her in front of her peers. Jaune charged forth again, stabbing at her while maintaining his position from behind the shield. She batted Crocea Mors away from her easily and launched a series of rapid strikes which slowly whittled away at his aura as they glanced almost uselessly off his shield.

She moved to use her dust again, but Jaune recognized the signs. The massive blue snowflake appearing underneath her when she grabbed her rapier with both hands was a little hard to miss. He rushed forward, leaping as the ground quickly froze below him. His shield slammed into her face and as he knocked her backwards several feet, he sliced across her stomach. He landed on the ground and, almost immediately, sharp red lines glowed beneath him. He rolled onto his side and onto his feet as a plume of fire erupted from where he had just landed. He had only a moment's rest before Weiss was on him, having abandoned using dust after seeing it had little effect to engage him directly.

Jaune backpedaled, his shield now fully guarding his face and upper torso from Weiss' wrath. He waited out the onslaught for a few seconds, but it didn't seem to end. A beep coming from his left arm caught his attention, signaling to him that he was in the yellow. He needed to end this fast. A quick glance to his side revealed to him that Weiss had already hit yellow as well. The few blows he had landed had been hard and punishing while Weiss' plethora had been plentiful but soft.

In one swift movement, Jaune stopped moving backwards and lunged forwards. Caught off guard, Weiss found her face being slammed with cold metal again, sending her staggering back some. Enraged and slightly staggered by this successful repeat attack, she spun the revolver of Myrtenaster, and pointed it at Jaune's sword. A blast of wind buffeted against the boy as he fought to stand his ground, but as he did so, Crocea Mors was torn from his grip. Eager to finally end this sham of a fight, Weiss charged forward, her weapon screaming as it came in from his left. To her surprise and horror, Jaune ducked underneath her overextended blow. He popped the shield of Crocea Mors off his left hand into its sheathe form, caught it in his right, and swung it at her head.

The solemn expression on Jaune's face was the last thing Weiss saw before blunt metal crashed against her temple for the third time that fight and sent her into unconsciousness.

The sound of a buzzer blaring overhead cut across all the echoing sounds of battle in the room. Everybody sat, frozen in disbelief as the guy who everybody thought of as the loser of their year matched one of the best of their year. Their minds were reeling at what they had just seen. It took even Goodwitch a couple moments to compose herself. Their eyes wandered from where Weiss was sprawled to the side to where Jaune was standing, hands on his knees as he desperately drew deep breaths.

"Well done, Mister Arc," Goodwitch congratulated after several long moments. "You've certainly come a long way since the beginning of the school year. Would you help Miss Schnee back to her seat?" She watched as Jaune nodded and gingerly approached Weiss. The thought that the defeated girl was playing pretend just so she could blindside him crossed Jaune's mind. He gingerly picked her up in his arms and made his way back to the other members of team RWBY. He turned to get back to his teammates after setting her down gently next to them, but a hand on his sleeve kept him there. He looked back at the hand and saw it was attached to a despondent looking Ruby.

"Did you... Was this... Is there..."Ruby struggled, her questions dying on her lips as soon as they formed.

"Yes," was Jaune's simple reply to all of them. Nothing else needed to be said between the two. Ruby smiled a small, sad smile and Jaune matched her. Below them in the arena, another match started, Dove against another boy with silver hair that Jaune wasn't too familiar with.

"Hey Vomit Boy, that was a pretty slick move you pulled off at the end there," Yang said from her seat between her sister and her ebony haired partner. "You sure your sheathe can take that kinda punishment?" Sheathes weren't exactly famous for being used in combat.

Jaune nodded and mecha-shifted the sheathe into its shield form. He held out for them to examine." Yeah, it's all good. It's meant to be a shield first after all. If it couldn't take the heat, I'd probably be in a lot more trouble than not being able to just carry my sword around."

A loud bang rang out just then. "WATCH OUT!" Dove's sword came sailing wildly out from the arena floor towards them. Ruby, Blake, and Yang scrambled to get away from where it would land, and Jaune started to move with them until he remembered something. Weiss. She was still out like a light. If she got hit, her aura wouldn't be there to protect her.

A clang rang out followed by the sound of Dove's sword clattering against the floor. Jaune stood in front of the unconscious girl, his shield a wall before him. He reached down and tossed the sword back to Dove below. "Be more careful!" he shouted at the two fighters on the floor. "You almost seriously hurt someone up here!"

"Our bad. We'll be more careful next time," the silver hair boy easily called back, Mercury Jaune thought his name was. Everything about this guy screamed cool, from the way his hair was styled to the way he held himself. He reminded Jaune a lot of Sun's teammate, Neptune.

"Mister Arc is correct. You almost hurt somebody outside of your match, you two, and your score will certainly reflect that," Miss Goodwitch remarked as she stepped back onto the arena floor. Mercury seemed to accept it easily enough, just shrugging nonchalantly as though he didn't care, while Dove slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Please return to your seats with your teammates, gentlemen."

Jaune turned back to Team RWBY. "I should probably get back to my teammates." They made a plan to see each other at lunch and Jaune finally made his way back to the rest of Team JNPR. "Hey guys."

Pyrrha was the first to welcome back their leader. "Jaune, congratulations on your victory!" she chirped. "Miss Goodwitch was right. You've certainly made a significant amount of progress."

"Yeah! The way you just smacked her at the end there with your shield was so cool. Ooh, ooh! Pyrrha, did you teach him that neato move?" Nora excitedly asked. She was bouncing in her seat at this point. Her teammates were so cool, and it was great to see Jaune not being nearly as mopey as he was this morning. She wasn't the only one to see the difference. Pyrrha and Ren both noticed it too. Jaune just seemed far more relaxed.

"No, I didn't. I hadn't ever really thought about using a sheathe as a weapon. Now that I think about it though, I have fought a few people in tournaments who did use that style," Pyrrha answered. Their methods of fighting were very different from Jaune's though. Theirs had relied on speed and agility, but Jaune's relied on endurance and power. When her various opponents had used their sheathes, it was to slice or even tear. Jaune had used his as a club. "Where did you learn that?"

"I got a bit of advice from somebody I met," Jaune answered cautiously. If he had been worried about Pyrrha getting upset that he gotten help somewhere else, he had been wrong. Pyrrha smiled easily, happy that Jaune was opening up slightly to others. "Anyway, what are you guys doing for the dance? We're still meeting up to practice for that routine right?"

"Yeah!" Nora cheered. "I've been waiting all day for our practice! Ren and I are doing what we always do: going together!" Jaune and Pyrrha looked between her and Ren a few times.

"Did you-"

"We're still just friends, Jaune. Nora and I have always been just friends. We just happen to go everywhere together." Jaune and Pyrrha looked back at Nora to see her reaction to those words. Nora was still just smiling as brightly as ever before. She didn't seem to be upset at what Ren said. In fact, she looked even happier as she latched onto his back, her head popping up over his shoulder. "Nora, your chin's digging into my collar bone."

"Sorry Ren." She shifted her head slightly so that she wouldn't hurt her best buddy. "What about you two? Oh! Jaune! How'd it go with Weiss last night?" Nora asked.

Jaune's gaze moved downwards. "It... uhh... it didn't go so well. Or at all. I found her asking somebody else and... well..." He looked back up to meet his teammates' sympathetic gazes. Ren was frowning slightly and Nora had tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Pyrrha was looking away, a weird expression on her face. Probably pity, he thought.

Pyrrha felt guilty that she was a little happy about the turn of events. She liked Jaune, but she didn't like how manipulative and cruel Weiss could be at times. Of all her friends here at Beacon, she could comfortably say that Weiss was the one she tried to keep at a more than respectable distance. Oh, making an enemy out of a powerful family was never a good idea and knowing her would certainly have advantages in life. She could even say that Weiss was somewhat approachable at times, but from day one, when Weiss had approached her with that proposition, she could tell immediately that she was like the others. Hearing that he was still unattached was uplifting.

"How would you like to go with me?" Pyrrha offered. Weiss had her chance last night, had all the chances in the world. Nora was right. It was time to practice what she preached. Nora stopped whispering and giggling in Ren's ear as the odd pair watched the scene unfold before them.

"What? What about your date?" Jaune didn't want some guy who could probably kick his butt to come after him for stealing his date away.

Pyrrha's frown deepened. "Nobody's asked me yet."

Jaune boggled for a moment before catching himself."What? That's... But... You're Pyrrha Nikos! How could nobody ask you?"

"For exactly that reason. Everywhere I go, from the moment I started winning tournaments, people have put me on this pedestal, praising me. I'm sure you've heard my nickname around the school. 'Goddess of Victory.' Well, when people put you on a pedestal for long enough, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everybody assumes that I'm too good for them, that I'm on a level that they can't attain, that there's no point in even looking for a relationship with me."

"Pyrrha..."Jaune whispered. He didn't know what that felt like. All his life, people had thought the exact opposite of him. He struggled for every friend and relationship he had, constantly feeling like he had to prove himself, to prove that he was worth the effort. He didn't interrupt though. His mother had said that a good friend always listens until others finish speaking.

"That's what I like about you. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You never once treated me like that. You just treated me like a friend from the beginning, like a person. Thanks to you, I've made friends that will stay with me my entire life. You're the kind of guy that I would love to go to the dance with.

"So, Jaune Arc, would you be my date to the dance tonight?" Pyrrha asked, plain and simple. She was never the kind of girl to dance around a subject. If she had wanted to do something and it didn't really hurt anybody, then she would do it. She had wanted to fight in tournaments, so she fought. She had wanted to become a huntress, so she came to Beacon. Now, she wanted Jaune. The only reason she hadn't asked earlier was because, in her inexperience, she didn't know how much she liked Jaune. Even now, she wouldn't go so far as to say she loved him, but she really wanted to try.

So she asked.

For a moment, there wasn't anything else. Ren and Nora weren't on the bleachers behind them. The match going on below wasn't happening. Jaune didn't say anything for a moment as he thought.

"I'd love to."

For the rest of the day, everybody on Team JNPR had a smile on their faces. Pyrrha's especially was so bright, it could blind even the sun.

* * *

Bass pumped faintly in the open night air as Shirou rolled his cart towards the Cross Continental Transmit as the next stop in his route, the plastic wheels squeaking as they rolled. According to Ozpin, this was supposed to be a high security building. A lot of important information and data was located here. Shirou didn't care too much about it though. He was finally starting to grasp the basics of this world's written language, so it wouldn't make much sense to him. Besides, he really just was here to clean. After all, it was important to keep up pretenses.

"Halt!" a guard in front of the main doors commanded. Shirou slowed down, and the guard approached him, his weapon cocked, though not pointed at him in a show of gun safety. "The dance is over that way. What're you doing here?" the guard demanded of Shirou. Shirou slowly reached into his pocket, careful not to aggravate the man with a loaded weapon, and pulled out his staff ID.

"I'm a member of the custodial staff. I'm supposed to clean here next." He wasn't cleaning here randomly. Ozpin and Shirou had selected this route on purpose. This guard wasn't the first one to interact with Shirou tonight. He had introduced himself as a janitor to several other officials at all the stops he had made within the last week. The more people that thought he was just a janitor, the less that would think he was something more.

The guard took the ID roughly and scanned it. The guard remained motionless for a few seconds, looking at the data that played across the inside of his visor. "Hmmm, looks like you really are a janitor-"

"I prefer 'custodian' really."

"But we can't exactly leave you alone. Security and all that," the guard continued as if he hadn't heard Shirou. The guard reached up to his helmet and pushed a button. "Hey Frank, get out here." Another guard walked out and joined them. "Frank, I need you to stay with this guy while he cleans. He checks out as a janitor-"

"Custodian."

"But you never know these days, right?"

Frank seemed to deflate at the command. Obviously, he had been expecting something else. "I have to stay with him and watch him. Geez, that sounds even more boring than doing the cleaning myself!"

"Good, then you don't mind cleaning the barracks this week. Suck it up and do your job!"

Frank groaned. "That's not fair! I cleaned last week!" The guard that stopped Shirou turned fully to face Frank. Shirou couldn't see past his visor, but his body language said that he was annoyed. "Fine. This week too. Whatever. Come on kid. Just get it done fast," Frank directed him with a defeated tone.

Shirou nodded and followed Frank into the building, leaving the door guard behind. He gave a small wave at all the several other guards as he walked past them and left his cart in the corner. He noticed that all the men in the room tensed slightly as he opened up the compartment on the side of his cart and relaxed when they saw it was all just cleaning supplies inside. For the next half hour, Shirou swept and mopped and wiped and dusted the room, the men cordially staying out of the way as he went.

"Not bad kid. You work fast," Frank whistled. The floor was so clean, he could see his reflection in it. The phrase 'so clean, you can eat off it' came to mind. "You do independent work? Give me your card. I'll pay you." He didn't know what unholy rituals went on in there, but the barracks' bathrooms scared him. The last time he went in there, he almost passed out from the smell alone.

Frank helped Shirou move the cart up the stairs into the elevator. Pushed up against the wall due t lack of space, Shirou replied, "Sorry, I only work for Beacon. It's a contractual obligation" Frank pushed the button for the next floor up and the doors slid shut.

"That sucks. I really don't want to clean those bathrooms." The elevator stopped and Shirou rolled the cart out. He again set up shop in the corner, Frank leaning against a wall nearby. Shirou was content to merely clean. Frank wasn't.

"So where you from, kid?" Frank asked. He wasn't going to just sit around and watch a kid half his age clean an otherwise empty room. At least downstairs, he could talk with his brothers-in-arms. Now, there was only the kid around to keep him occupied on a night.

Shirou wondered what would be alright to divulge. "I'm from Fuyuki." From what Ozpin had told him, it wasn't uncommon for small villages to never be officially recorded. It'd probably be alright to at least tell the truth, if not the whole of it.

"Never heard of it. Small village?" Frank took off his helmet and set it to the side on one of the computer desks next to him. Shirou got a good look at him for the first time. His dark hair was cut short, his hairline receding slightly to leave him with a prominent widow's peak. He was almost clean-shaven, a little bit of stubble at his neckline. Shirou didn't think he was incredibly attractive, but he definitely wasn't homely.

"I like to think it's decently sized," Shirou answered.

"What's it like?" Frank asked.

"It's home. It's one of the most beautiful places I know. There's a river that runs down the middle of it and sometimes, late at night, I'd go to the bridge that runs across it and watch the sunset," Shirou reminisced. His time in Remnant had been interesting, but he longed to be back with Rin. He thought of her every night since he came here. No matter how long he stayed in bed, it still felt cold.

"Sounds nice. I'd love to go there sometime," Frank said. "So why are you here?" At Shirou's confused gesturing to his mop and cart, he clarified, "I mean here in Vale." The kid didn't look like somebody whose village was overrun by Grimm.

Shirou dunked his mop in the cold sudsy water. "I had to leave. I didn't have much of a choice in where I went." The thick smell of industrial soap filled the room as Shirou set to cleaning.

"Why'd you leave?"

"It's... complicated," Shirou hesitated.

"Ah, I get it." Frank looked interested for the first time since Shirou met him. A sly smile slipped onto his face. "It was a girl, wasn't it?" he asked. "All the kids these days, going crazy for each other. Whatever happened, I'm sure it all work out. You just need to go back and settle it like a man. Trust me, I have experience with this kind of stuff," He chuckled, watching as the kid stood up straight and looked at the far corner of the room. The smile slipped from his face at the kid's somber expression.

"It's... I can't talk to her anymore. She's... beyond my reach." Shirou really didn't want to say anything more than that. He had spent more than enough time in here tonight to make an impression on any witnesses. All this thought of home was making him tired.

"Hey kid... Look, I'm so-" The elevator doors slid open and a woman in black slinked out from behind them. The air around her oozed with confidence and mystery.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Nobody's al... lowed... up..." Frank trailed off as he spotted two of his fellow guards slumped against the inside of the elevator. He reached for his gun beside him, but the woman quickly closed the distance before he could even take aim. The spike of a stiletto slammed into his unprotected cheek, pounding against his meager aura and throwing him back hard against the window. Frank was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

"Hmmm, nobody was supposed to be up here," the intruder cooed softly to herself. The sound of rubber swiftly thudding against tile caught her attention, alerting her to the young man who had been up here. "Well, looks like I'll have to take care of you as well." Her clothes burning an angry orange, she tucked and rolled away from the young man's attack. He was brandishing a mop of all things. This would be easy.

Prana flooding its entirety, Shirou swung his mop, reinforced to the point where steel would break against it. The woman dodged, sliding backwards as flames wreathed her hands. He saw that when she stopped, the flames were replaced by two vicious looking short swords. As he catalogued the newest additions to his armory, the woman rushed him. A look of palpable confusion spread across her face as her blades clanged and stopped against the wooden handle of his mop.

"Clang?"

Shirou pushed harder against her, almost overtaking her in the impromptu battle of strength. She pushed aside her confusion and refocused on beating this kid. As it was, the two were deadlocked, their weapons struggling against each other. The black clad lady redirected his mop to the side and flipped away from him, launching herself into the air and bringing her blades together to form a bow. Tips lit ablaze, she launched three arrows at the fake janitor. Shirou brought his improvised weapon up and blocked the volley, easily stopping them from puncturing his skin.

He was not expecting them to explode. He was rocked back through a row of desks. He steadied himself back onto his feet, only to see his mop shattered along the aisle where he had been just moments ago and the woman knocking another flaming arrow. The twang of the bow was almost unheard as the roaring scream of death pierced the air. Shirou leaped to the side, taking brief cover as the missile rocketed past, blowing out a window somewhere behind him.

"Trace on!"

A small flash of light shone from behind one of the desks. The woman smirked as she pulled apart her weapons to their melee form. If she kept using explosive arrows, then she was bound to attract unwanted attention, which would defeat tonight's purpose. The red-haired kid walked out from his hiding place. It seemed he was a dust user himself, seeing as he couldn't have possibly concealed those exotic looking blades without her noticing. He must have been a complete failure as a huntsman, probably a dropout. His stance was full of openings, just waiting for her to exploit them. Her swords knifed in towards him, looking to just rip his exposed flank into pieces. Another series of strikes flew towards his unprotected face. A kick meant to sweep his feet out from underneath him swung at his knees.

Something was wrong. She wondered what it was until a single strike from the black blade sent her flying back fifteen feet. Her instincts yelled at her to dodge, so she flipped up from her back away from where she laid prone. Two gleaming blades sank deep where she had been just moments before. Almost lazily, she realized that she hadn't hit him. Tears in her outfit revealing reddened skin beneath told her that her forward assault had failed and that he had easily reversed it on her. How? She was faster and far more agile than him for sure. She had years of experience and practice, though she would never say that aloud and would punish anybody who did. Who was this guy?

While Shirou had long since decided that Archer's style of combat was a special kind of cheating, there were times when he was glad to know it. He appreciated it for its cunning, but often times found himself annoyed for the danger it put him in. Archer, through years of practice, had devised a style intentionally filled with several openings in its guard. Mostly used against those who were his superior in combat, it let him close the gap between his and several opponents' levels of power by goading them to attack those weaknesses. If he knew how the opponent was going to attack and where, he could start to dodge and counter their movements before they even began.

He watched the woman slip into a defensive position, Frank some odd twenty feet behind her. Shirou could easily enough close the distance between the two of them if she went after the guard as a hostage. Transforming her weapon back into a bow, the woman reached behind her back and readied something small and indiscernible from where he stood. Shirou lunged forward, Kanshou and Bakuya readied to deflect anything she launched. She fired, the twang audible in the lack of the previous roars of her exploding arrows.

Shirou crossed his swords, shielding his upper torso and neck, but it served him no good. The vial of white dust shattered on contact with the metal of his blades, a deafening flash of sound and light replacing the room of computers. Disoriented, he felt himself colliding with the cold floor. Quickly, he readied himself for any attack, but none came for several minutes. His vision still swimming and a distinct ringing in his ears, Shirou rubbed at his eyes.

His vision had yet to return to normal, but he couldn't let himself be caught off guard in a fight. No matter how hard he scanned the room, the intruder was out of sight. Shirou remained crouched, but still no attacks came. The more his vision slowly returned to normal, the more he became sure that she had fled. He remember that Frank was still unconscious. Spying a dark and blurry figure against the wall, Shirou rushed over to Frank, but before he even got to him, a young female voice rang out.

"Don't worry mister! I'll save you!"

Suddenly, he was on the defensive again. A flurry of powerful blows came from every direction as he struggled to keep up with them. The figure's shadowy form was heavily blurred, and it was hard to tell where each strike would come from.

Ruby didn't know who this guy was, but she had to save the guard from him. When she stepped out of the elevator, the first thing she saw was a red haired guy around her age running to attack an old man. Immediately, she attacked, her semblance slowly building up to speed up and strengthen her attacks. This guy was good though. Even if he was struggling to keep up with her, she had to go faster and faster if she wanted to land even a single blow on him.

Shirou dodged as frantically as he could, the sound of close gunfire stabbing into his already damaged ears. If his eyesight could just-

Ruby watched as the red-haired boy crumpled to the ground. Behind him stood General Ironwood with his foot outstretched. They watched the kid for a few moments to make sure he wasn't getting back up, but when he didn't move, General Ironwood looked at Ruby and smiled.

"Good work. You're Miss Rose, right?" the general asked. Cautiously, he inched closer to the prone boy and kicked away the blades behind the desk out of sight. Once he heard them stop sliding, he crouched down and pulled off the boy's shoes and socks. Preoccupied with his task as they were, neither Ruby or Ironwood noticed a brief flash of light from where the blades stopped.

"Ummm, yeah. How'd you know? And what are you doing?" Ruby asked, holding her nose closed with one hand while the other sheathed Crescent Rose. She heard from Yang and her friends from Sigil that all boy's feet smell horrible. The locker rooms back at her old academy had just proven it true.

General Ironwood didn't look up as he tied the socks together and bound the red-head's hands behind his back. "Oz, I mean Headmaster Ozpin told me about you. The first thing he said about you was that you have silver eyes." He paused for a moment, and looked at her for several moments. "It seems he was right. As for what I am doing, I am currently without handcuffs, so this will have to do for the moment."

Ruby watched him tie a complicated knot for a few moments, before she remembered something. "Oh, the old man!" She dashed over to the unconscious guard, a storm of rose petals in her wake. She checked his breathing and hurriedly looked him over for wounds.

"Damn, poor Frank's going to have a headache tomorrow," the general's baritone voice called from behind her. In his right hand was a Scroll while his left easily dragged the assailant behind him. "Don't worry about this guy too much, Miss Rose. He's still alive, but he'll be out for a while."

Giving a sigh of relief, Ruby stood up and faced the tall man. "So what happens now?"

General Ironwood looked down at the boy in his grasp, a hard look on his face. "I have a few questions for this guy." It was about to be the kid's worst night of his life.

* * *

Pyrrha was having the best night of her life. It was even better than the time she won her first championship. Jaune had been nothing but a complete gentleman this entire time. Sure, he floundered a few times, trying his best to make it as perfect as possible, but Pyrrha stopped him early on and told him to just treat as any other night on the rooftops. Only without the weapons. Jaune calmed down with that and found a suaveness that Pyrrha had only dreamed of.

As the party got into full swing, the two of them, along with Nora and Ren, set the dance floor ablaze, surprising everybody with the dance routine they had practiced in secret. Jaune had proved to be a much more capable dancer than she had first suspected given his performance during their rehearsals. Their other teammates had tapped out soon enough, Ren not being totally comfortable dancing in front of others and Nora to enjoy his company off to the sides of the floor. Now, after several hours of dancing in the limelight with her date, Pyrrha was taking a breather while Jaune grabbed the two of them punch.

Nothing could ruin her night.

"Having a good time?" a dejected voice asked next to her. Weiss. One of the last people Pyrrha wanted to run into tonight, the absolute worst being the members of Team CRDL.

"Yes, actually. Jaune has been a wonderful date so far," Pyrrha answered. She turned towards Weiss, and was mildly shocked. Slight dark marks ran down from the corners of hers eyes, almost unnoticeable unless one was close enough to actually see them, her eyes were slightly bloodshot, and her usually pristine hair was unkempt in some places, sticking out wildly."Weiss, are you okay?" Though she was annoyed at her, Pyrrha did consider Weiss a friend and was worried about her.

"I'm fine," Weiss snapped. The small girl wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Where's your date?" Pyrrha looked around for anybody that might claim the heiress for themselves, but every guy was already paired up with another woman.

Weiss looked away for a moment, sighed, then looked woefully at Pyrrha. "I don't have a date. Nobody asked me and the guy I asked rejected me."

Pyrrha frowned. "Jaune asked you several times," Pyrrha reminded her cautiously as though Weiss would take her statement as a suggestion to claim him for herself.

Weiss scoffed. "That buffoon doesn't count. Maybe if he spent more time actually not acting like an imbecile instead of wasting my time, I would have given him a moment of thought. He's annoying. Seriously, I don't know what anybody could see in him. I feel bad for you, Pyrrha. He must have asked you out of desperation and you took pity on him. You could have been here with anybody, but you came with the loser."

A sharp crack sounded throughout the ballroom. People turned towards the sound, only to find Weiss Schnee on the ground holding her cheek as Pyrrha Nikos towered above her, shaking in rage. They crowded closer as they waited with baited breath for a cat fight, but not close enough to get caught in the crossfire between the Schnee heiress and the Goddess of Victory.

"How dare you?" Pyrrha seethed. She glanced around, noticing the audience forming around them. She reached down and grabbed Weiss by her arm. Heaving the girl up forcefully, she dragged her away, out towards the balcony. Now alone in the cold night air and away from prying eyes, Pyrrha let go of the heiress. Weiss stumbled a little as Pyrrha threw her forcefully, grabbing the railing of the balcony to steady herself on her heels.

"What is your deal?" Weiss shrieked once she was stable. It was a cold night. Her arms pimpled and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She crossed her arms as Pyrrha walked next to her and silenced her with a glare. The cold seemed to grow deeper.

"My deal is how you treat Jaune," Pyrrha spit. "I don't know what your problem with him is, but he doesn't deserve what you said." Weiss tried to say something, but Pyrrha continued, saying "He tries as hard as he can. Every night, we're training to the point of exhaustion to be the best huntsmen we can be. Some nights, on our nights off, he comes back late and is barely able to get ready for bed. But maybe you're right. Maybe he is a loser. But he's still better than you."

Weiss finally found her voice. "What!? How could that doofus possibly be better than me?" she demanded, the heat in her voice warming her up. The sound of blood pounding in her ears was all that she could hear.

"He beat you, didn't he? If he's a loser, than what does that make you? He spends every moment he can making himself the best possible team leader. How about you? Every time I see you, you're either playing games or trying to network with the other students here. From where I stand, he's a much harder worker than you."

Weiss' scar burned. "I've spent far more time in my life preparing for the future than he ever has."

"Maybe so, but it's the present and what you do now that matters, not where you come from. Ironic isn't it? The person you hate the most at this school has shown himself to be far more noble than you have acted yourself, the heiress to one of the world's largest companies." Pyrrha knew she was digging herself into a hole at this point, but the words just kept spilling out. A huntress could go far in this world with the right contacts, and what she was doing could be considered the height of social suicide. And yet, she found herself not caring about any of that.

"How dare you? I have been raised from birth to be one of the most lady-like women in high society! Just how could that buffoon even hope to compare to my social graces?"

"By being himself! By caring about others! By caring not about what they can do or where they come from, but about the strength of their character and hearts! The day we met, I could tell that all you cared about me was what I could do for you and how you could exploit that!" Pyrrha was in Weiss' face now, constantly advancing on the backpedaling girl. Weiss guiltily looked away at those words as she bumped up against the railing, unable to retreat any further. "Jaune didn't even know who I was. I just another regular girl to him, another face in the crowd. I thought I would finally have a chance to be normal, but then you told him exactly who I was and what I famous for! I wanted to cry!" Weiss looked up at that.

Hot tears, almost steaming, were rolling down Pyrrha's cheeks. It was a stark contrast to the scowl on her face.

"But he didn't care. He didn't put me on a pedestal like everybody else did. I could be myself with him instead of acting like I did in public." Pyrrha backed up some, replacing the scowl on her face with a gentle smile as she gazed at the shattered moon far off in the distance. "At the initiation test, I sought him out. I saw him falling through the air and I made sure to pin him to that tree. I didn't want anyone else to get to him." Pyrrha looked back Weiss, looking stern as she drove home her point.

"I didn't go tonight with him out of pity. In fact, I asked him. I went with him because I wanted to be with him, because I saw the mark of something amazing in him."

Neither said anything for what felt like hours. Pyrrha wiped away the last of her tears as Weiss could only stand there and absorb everything.

"Hey, is everything ok here?" Jaune asked, breaking the tense silence between the two. He was standing at the balcony door, a cup of punch in both hands. He took his place next to his date and offered a glass to her, receiving a small appreciative smile as thanks.

"Yes. Yes, everything is alright Jaune. Nothing you need to worry about," Pyrrha assured him. She took the cup and wrapped an arm around her date's waist, surprising him slightly. She gave a pointed look to Weiss as Jaune hesitantly put an arm around her shoulder in response. Content with Weiss' scathing expression, she looked back at Jaune. "I'm starting to get tired. Would it be alright with you if I went back to the dorms?"

"Of course. Come on, I'll walk you back," Jaune offered. "I wouldn't want to leave a lady all alone and defenseless." They shared a small smile at the joke. They knew that between the two of them, it would most likely be Pyrrha defending Jaune.

"No, no. It's still early and most of our friends are still here. Stay and enjoy the party." Pyrrha detached from her date, waving goodbye as she disappeared into the crowd. Jaune moved to the railing as he watched the Amazon walk back to the dorm rooms below. A small sigh escaped his lips as he settled his head into the crook of his elbow.

"She's amazing." He hadn't been talking to anybody in particular, so he jumped a little when Weiss moved next to him. They stayed like that together before Jaune got a little uncomfortable and moved away slightly. A series of flashing lights caught his eye in the distance, but he paid them no mind. Teenagers with weapons and what were basically super powers tended to get a little rowdy on big nights like tonight. Teenagers that don't have dates were even more so.

"Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"Out of curiosity..." Talking to Pyrrha had left a voice with a nagging question in the back of her head. She had the feeling that if she didn't ask now, she wouldn't ever think to do it again. "Do you know who I am?"

The question earned her a sidelong look from Jaune. "You're Weiss?" he replied, unsure of how he should reply to what seemed like an obvious question.

Weiss sighed and turned to look at him. "Right, but do you know my background? "Weiss watched Jaune took a thinking pose as he seriously seemed to think about what he knew of her.

"Well, you're a member of team RWBY... ummm... You use dust... ummm... Ruby said you wanted bunk beds, so you probably have a brother... or a sister!" Jaune quickly added at Weiss' dumbstruck look, thinking he had offended her somehow.

She couldn't believe it. This guy really didn't know who she was. "Were you raised under a rock?" she asked softly. There was no way he couldn't know.

"Hey, that hurts."

"I'm Weiss Schnee. Of the Schnee Dust Company. Idiot." She watched as Jaune did a double take. "Did you really think it was a coincidence that I happened to have the same last name as a major corporation that produces the same material I use in combat?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. With reddened cheeks, he said, "Well, in my home town, there were a lot of people who had the name Schnee. A lot of people who didn't have a last name just ended up making up their own. More than a few had the name Schnee." Weiss was familiar with the practice. Those who had lost everything in Grimm attacks would take new names. Some abused it, taking names that were associated with respect, such as the age old Arc or the more recent Schnee. There were more than a few law suits levied against her family because of that. It was honestly a little surprising how many Faunus took their name, if not shaming.

Jaune let out a small chuckle. "You wouldn't believe how many people had my family name."

Weiss pushed that to the side for the moment. The idea that this... this... she didn't know what to call him anymore... that Jaune was actually really an Arc was a little too much for her to handle at the moment. Instead, she just focused on something more important. "What made you ask me out?"

A grimace flashed across his face, gone as quick as it came. "You were pretty and you looked lonely." Jaune looked back out towards the campus, trying to see if he could still see Pyrrha. A small red figure was visible for only a moment before it turned around a corner, disappearing from view. He held his gaze for a few seconds before turning it skyward. The moon was pretty tonight.

A delicate eyebrow raised. "I was with Pyrrha." Her only answer was a shrug. The night was cold again and the bright night sky seemed like it would swallow her up whole as she stood there regarding the blond knight.

Jaune finished his cup of punch and stopped leaning against the railing. "It's cold out here tonight. I think I'm gonna go back inside." She nodded once and watched him walk back to the doors. Neptune ran into him and was about to walk past before the 'coolest guy in Beacon' noticed her standing alone. A nervous sweat broke on his tan forehead and he quickly swung an arm around the blonde's shoulder, leading him quickly away back downstairs.

It was cold outside. For a moment, she thought her tears would turn to ice.

* * *

The sounds of flesh striking flesh over and over again were stifled in the small grey room. A bang sounded out as Shirou's head was slammed onto the table in front of him. He would have fought back, but as it was, his hands and legs were bound to the folding chair he was sitting in. He just gritted his teeth, grunting with every punch.

"Talk! Who sent you?" a voice demanded. When he had woken up, there was a man in white suit sitting across the table from him. He had been asked some questions and he had answered as truthfully as his deal with Ozpin would allow. However, the more he said, the more upset the man got until he flew into a fit of rage.

"I told you, I work for Beacon. I'm a custodian here." A gloved fist buried itself into his cheek, rocking him hard enough to tip over along with the chair. His vision swam for the second time that night, the blood pounding in his head as he fought to stay conscious. He heard the squeak of the man's boots as he knelt down beside Shirou and felt a hand painfully pull against the back of his head.

"My men have been checking everything you say, and every single bit of it sends up red flags. You're lying to me," the man hissed into Shirou's ear. Suddenly, the only door to the room flew open, banging against the wall. Shirou couldn't see who it was from where he lay, but he could hear several people shouting for somebody to stop.

"James!" a familiar voice cried out. All the voices died down. A pause and then a long suffering sigh. "That's enough."

The man looked towards the door, and then stood up. All Shirou could see where the leather boots the man wore. Idly, he noted a spot of blood on the toe. The back of his head itched as he looked at it. "Oz. We caught this kid in the terminal room at the CCT. He attacked several of my men and put many of them in critical condition. We need to find out who sent him."

"James, I know this man. I can vouch for him. I was the one who sent him there in the first place."

"Maybe you think that, but I think it's far more likely he planned to get here since he was hired. I know his kind. They're crafty and they work in the shadows, pulling at strings we don't even know we have to get what they want." A bitter note was present there. It reminded Shirou of sucking lemons.

"General, do you really think that I am so weak-minded that I would allow myself to be manipulated easily?" A tone of aggravation. A challenge.

"What? No. Oz, you know I don't think that about you. I just think it's far more likely that-" Defensive.

A new voice. "Umm sir? We reviewed the security footage, and this guy wasn't responsible."

A pause. "You're sure?" the boots asked.

"With a body like hers, it'd be kinda hard... to... call..." the voice petered off. "Right. Umm, anyway, yes. In fact, this guy actually may have saved Frank's life."

Silence. The boots danced a little in place. "I see. Thank you," they said stiffly. "Oz, listen-"

"General, do you mind giving us a moment?" the familiar voice asked. Though it was phrased as a request, even Shirou could recognize it for what it was.

"... Sure." The boots stepped over him and Shirou heard the door close. Shirou felt something at his back and struggled slightly.

"Shirou, relax. It's me, Ozpin. I'm just getting you out of these restraints." Shirou relaxed at that, and felt the handcuffs at his wrists and ankles disappear. A pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and gently moved him into a sitting position. Shirou shook his head, a sense of vertigo and nausea overwhelming him and splitting his vision in two.

Ozpin looked at Shirou's face, the dark purple bruises slowly fading out of existence. Slowly, he stood Shirou up and walked him over to the other chair. He caught Shirou as he staggered, waiting until he was sure the redhead had steadied himself again. Ozpin sat Shirou down in the chair and righted the chair across the table. "Are you okay, Shirou? I'm afraid James was never... well he was always very enthusiastic about getting results." He didn't like disparaging one of his oldest friends, even if he tended to be incredibly violent in times of crises.

Shirou groaned, clutching his head. "I've been through worse. I'll be fine soon enough." Ozpin felt a massive pang of guilt in his heart. Still, there were questions that needed answering.

"Shirou, what happened tonight?" he questioned.

"I followed the route that we set up, making sure that people saw me like always. I got to the CCT building and I started cleaning with a guard watching me." Shirou's eyes shot open and his head snapped up. "Frank! Is Frank alright?"

The tone of worry and alarm warmed Ozpin's heart a little. It was always so refreshing to hear people care about others, even if they were a complete stranger. "Yes, Shirou. Private Carmody will make a complete recovery. The only injuries he suffered were aura depletion and a mild concussion." He watched as Shirou sighed in relief. Ozpin's nose wrinkled a little and his brow furrowed at the smell of blood growing stronger with that sigh. "Please, what else happened."

Shirou nodded and continued. "She showed up. A woman in black and carmine eyes. Long black hair. Used two short swords that combined into a bow that shot off incendiary arrows. It was weird. She didn't have them anywhere on her person, but all of a sudden they were there."

A silver eyebrow rose. "It sounds like a dust user. Some fighters embed dust into their clothing. But just to be sure, are you sure she wasn't just hiding them somewhere on her person?" Any small details they could get on this assailant could make a world of difference. It would allow them to prepare for this woman who had defeated an entire platoon of guards in straightforward combat.

Shirou blushed slightly and averted his gaze. "No. She definitely wouldn't have been able to hide those easily." Ozpin allowed a small grin on his face. He forgot that Shirou was still just barely an adult. The grin fell away at that thought. Shirou was still just a teenager. He let his gaze wonder on the man's figure, taking note of how Shirou's crumpled nose was gradually pulling itself into its proper shape. "Oh!" Ozpin's gaze snapped back to Shirou's. "Her clothes did glow when she attacked. And she used something like a flash bomb from my-" Shirou caught himself, his eyes sliding over to the mirror on the wall. "From my home. I also made sure to... end the fight as quickly as possible."

Ozpin nodded. Shirou didn't reveal much to her. "It indeed sounds like a dust user. She probably used a variation of light dust. Did she use a phial for that attack?"

Shirou nodded. "After that flash bomb, I couldn't see anything and I assume that she escaped. I was going to check on Frank, but somebody else attacked me." Shirou rubbed his brow. "It's hard to remember what else happened after that. I was still disoriented from the flash bomb. The next thing I remember is waking up in here, handcuffed to a chair."

"Do you think you could recognize her again? If we gave you a series of photos, do you think you could pick her out?" The Vale Police Department had a series of photo id books on all the criminals they'd apprehended, including sketching of suspects that they had yet to catch.

Shirou thought for a moment before he nodded. "She had on a half-mask, which would make it easier to identify her. However, I can't guarantee a positive match."

"I see. Thank you, Shirou. I'm sorry about all that... transpired tonight. Why don't you take the next couple days off? Go to Vale and see the sights." Ozpin felt terrible. His duties as headmaster had him busy chaperoning the dance while this interrogation went on. The moment he found out, he had rushed down here as soon as possible, only to find James savagely beating him. He felt that Shirou should just enjoy the next couple days at his leisure.

In the meantime, he was going to talk to his old friend.

Shirou looked slightly taken aback. Looking down in shame, he admitted, "I don't have the funds at the moment. I saw some of the prices for tours and it's a little beyond what I'm comfortable spending."

Ozpin made a mental note to raise Shirou's salary the moment he got back to his office. "Then don't think of it as a vacation. Think of it as an opportunity to learn more about how to see how other businesses' custodial staffs operate. I'm more than confident that the school would be willing to reimburse you for that as a business expense. Even if it doesn't, I will." A pleasant smile finally settled on his face as Shirou's mouth dropped open.

Every one of Shirou's Japanese sensibilities told him to decline. "But... You... I couldn't possibly-"

Ozpin stopped him cold with that genial tone of his. "Shiro. For me. Tomorrow, after you finish work, go out to Vale and come back fully rested on Sunday. I'll have a credit card ready for your use. While there is technically no limit here, do please try to be sensible with your spending."

Shirou's mouth opened and closed for several seconds before letting out a massive sigh of exasperation. "Why?" Why are you doing this for me? Why are you being so generous? Why are you willing to pay for such a leisurely thing when it could be better spent on something else?

"Because I feel like you might like to see what this world has to offer." Because Shirou deserved better. Because Shirou was due this and much more. Because Shirou might never get the chance to do it again. Because Ozpin felt that war was coming.

Both perfectly understood what the other meant. Nothing else needed to be said that night.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

**1\. Sometimes, when you see something that is unusual or out of place or maybe even just flat wrong in one of my stories, it is not an accident. It is intentional. I pick and choose my words carefully when I write this story, when I write any story. I have a huge document several tens of pages long that has tons of details that I want to get across to the reader. This story is, for a large part of it anyways, already finished. In my head that is. If something looks out of place, good job, you caught some subtlety.**

**2\. I do actually use the wikias for both RWBY and Fate/Stay Night, although the latter's goes by the name Type-Moon because FSN is actually a small part of that world. I cross-reference from other sources to double check what I know and I'll look for information if I'm not sure of something. Sometimes, these wikias are woefully incomplete. The RWBY wikia is created and managed by fans who don't have the intrinsic knowledge that the people at RT do and have to work with the content supplied. For instance, somehow, our fan base has the idea that the proper job title is Hunters, but they are never referred to as such in the show. It's always Huntsmen.**

**3\. Nobody's really nitpicked about this, but I only put down Author's Notes when I feel like I need to. People kept complaining about Shirou's height due to him being much taller in the show. Guess what. What they're doing is called artistic license. I do that too sometimes, like with how Ozpin saw Shirou's memories. It makes the story more interesting. The illustrators for the show did that too with how tall they made Shirou, and it works. My point is that I don't feel like I always have to explain every detail, but if people audibly express enough confusion or I feel like I have to defend my stance, you'll see Author's Notes.**

**4\. I do not bureaucratic red tape. These past couple of weeks have just been a total mess of fines and fees and strongly worded messages and sleep deprivation. That's literally the only reason why this chapter was so delayed. **

**Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I'm going to go sleep now.**


	5. Reconnaissance

**RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night belongs to Type-Moon, neither of whom I am associated with. I earn no income off of this story.**

* * *

"Thank you for coming Ruby. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. At least I'm not oh for three on my bad guy catching record." Silence met her joke. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for. Got it."

General Ironwood strode towards the young girl and settled a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby, I feel it's appropriate to let you know that I think what you did last night is exactly what being a huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could," the general complimented her.

"Thank you sir," Ruby accepted meekly.

"Now, we've already been informed on the events that transpired last night, but now that you've rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add," Ozpin asked, leading the discussion. Before Ruby had arrived, the headmaster of Beacon had disclosed to James about Shirou in full who would join them shortly so he could offer his own take on what had happened last night.

"Was anybody else there that night? Before or after you left the building?" Glynda asked, trying not to seem too imposing as she usually did. She knew her own reputation and encouraged it in part. It kept some of the more unruly children in line.

"Ummm, I remember there was a shadowy figure on the rooftops, but I couldn't see them too well. It was dark and the dance was really bright and I was too far away from them. Sorry," Ruby apologized. A sudden thought occurred to her amidst all the churning of gears. "What's going to happen to the guy that got caught last night?"

"Oh, don't worry about him, Ruby. As far as we're concerned, our good friend Shirou is no threat to anybody. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that he couldn't hurt a butterfly if he wanted to. Right?" Ozpin asked in a sly tone of voice. At Ruby's cross-eyed expression, he merely winked.

Ruby was confused. That guy was clearly a skilled fighter and he'd single-handedly taken down an entire squadron of trained soldiers. She looked towards Miss Goodwitch and the general, but they merely nodded, looking solemn in lieu of saying anything. She looked back towards her headmaster but he merely raised a finger to his lips. Comprehension dawned on her. "Ooohhh, I get it."

The affable smile on Ozpin's face widened a little. "Get what? Anyway Ruby, thank you for your cooperation. Why don't you go and spend some time with your team? You have a big day ahead of you."

"Anytime," Ruby sang out. She skipped back towards the elevator, a grin on her face. She knew a secret! She couldn't wait to tell the rest of her team about this!

"And Miss Rose, please try and be discrete about this matter."

A brief sensation of guilt surged through her. This was the kingdom's safety at stake. If she said anything about the guy, who knows what bad things could happen? "Yes sir," she replied meekly. She'd just have to tell them in super secret secrecy.

The three adults watched the elevator doors close before returning to their prior subject. "I don't know, Oz. A kid from another world? You sure he wasn't just making it all up?" Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Glynda glare at him for a moment. He questioned Oz all the time though, so he was used to it. "Or maybe he was just delusional. I've heard plenty of stories of people who cracked for whatever reason and just started trying to make sense of what happened to them through a number of stories. I mean, they're not usually this entrenched in fantasy, but those people are out there." The glare softened somewhat before morphing into a question gaze at Ozpin.

Ozpin took a long pull from his steaming mug before answering. Briefly losing himself in the scent of freshly crushed coffee grounds, he remembered what happened that night they tried to awake Shirou's non-existent aura. "I'm sure James. Last week, an incident occurred between the two of us. For a brief moment, I saw his past memories."

"His memories?" Glynda chimed in. "Do you mean to say that you experienced his life?" As an intellectual who had delved into the study of aura fairly heavily, she had never heard of a possibility in any of the numerous academic studies on aura. However, philosophical studies on the soul were being conducted all the time. One question posed in that particular circle came to mind: what makes the man: nature or nurture? Did the man make his decisions, or was it his decisions that made him? Perhaps, she'd finally hear the answer.

"No, nothing to that effect. It was more like watching a movie. I was an observer, watching from the sides and unable to do or say anything. It was somewhat maddening to be honest. Glynda, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, sir." She took a moment to compose herself. Perhaps they'd find the answer to that particular question another day. "But what do you mean by 'maddening?'"

A haunted look flashed across Ozpin's eyes. "Shirou has seen more death and turmoil than any huntsman twice his age has seen. I watched it all, unable to act. I hadn't felt that powerless since... Oh, that reminds me." The headmaster sat back down at his desk and opened up a few files on his computer. James and Glynda both moved to his shoulders as he silently pulled up a computer program.

"You're increasing his pay to that much?" James whistled. "Is he that good of a janitor?"

Ozpin chuckled. He knew what his old friend was really asking. "He may be the best janitor here at the school. Staff included." That earned a shocked look from the both of them. "Besides, his ability to keep the school clean actually outstrips those of our electronic staff. I can't recall the last time I saw the statue in the front court yard sparkle like that." A quick look out the bay-view windows confirmed his statement; that statue gleamed with sparkles in the morning sunlight. A noise chimed from the other side of the room. Somebody was taking the elevator up. James and Glynda tensed. Nobody else was supposed to be able to enter right now while they had their meeting. Had somebody infiltrated their school and hacked right through all their security?

The doors opened up and the cloying scent of bleach and muttered cursing quickly filled the room. The professor and the general both relaxed, sighing at the sight of Shirou on his knees as he tried to wipe up the spilled chemicals. This was the kid who was supposed to be a better fighter than even them? Ozpin rose from his chair to greet Shirou. They felt somewhat ridiculous having gotten that anxious, especially after Ozpin had already informed them of the new staff member joining them.

"Hello Shirou. How was your sleep after last night?" Ozpin took a sidelong glance at the general. The sight of him shifting, slightly unsettled at the subtle reminder of what happened last night.

Shirou stopped wiping with his grey rag to return the greeting. "Hello Headmaster. I slept fine, no different than usual." Like every night, he had dreamed of swords and fire. And the white-haired girl. She didn't always show up in his dreams, but he caught brief glimpses of her and her long white hair last night.

"How's that assignment I gave you coming along?" Ozpin asked.

Shirou held up a brown spiral-bound notebook. "I'm working on it. I've found a lot already, and I'm planning on working through lunch to find more."

"Sir, what is this about?" Glynda was confused. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Emiya. My name is Glynda Goodwitch," she added hastily so as not to seem rude. She walked over and shook his hand. He accepted the gesture and let her take the book from him. Flipping through it, she found unintelligible markings and symbols intermittent with regular writing. A cipher of some kind perhaps. "What is this?"

"That," Ozpin explained, "is a list of any security flaws that Shirou here has found at Beacon." He'd asked it of Shirou only that morning, to which the red-haired man had agreed to. Under the increasingly useful cover of a janitor, he'd take notice of each deficit in security that he could find as he went about his daily rounds. There were a surprisingly large amount for a combat school so far, but to be fair, it was a school designed to teach warriors and defenders. They'd probably counted on the collective strength of both students and staff to defend the school and shore up any weaknesses the building may have had when they'd first designed it. The fact that Shirou was also using the offensive capabilities of Servants as a benchmark for an assault may have also had something to do with the large number. In his defense, Shirou's reasoning was surprisingly sound.

If something can defend against an attack from a Servant, it can defend against an attack from anything.

"And these symbols?" Glynda asked while trying to find any meaning within this haphazardly written book.

"That's Japanese, my homeland's language." Shirou explained. "We use a series of different characters in order to convey meaning. Depending on the context and styling of the character, it can mean different things. I used Japanese if the flaw was a serious deficit that I wanted to report orally." A look of understanding made its way onto the blonde woman's face as she started flipping through different pages. If, for whatever reason, somebody had managed to get their hands on this book, they'd know a few of Beacon's weaknesses, but not the most pressing ones. Glynda continued reading the book, growing more and more worried as her academic mind and years of experience agreed with everything in the book she could understand.

"Shirou." The eighteen-year-old looked towards the strong voice that had called his name. It was the general from last night. He looked uncomfortable, which Shirou took a small amount of gratification in. "I wanted... I wanted to apologize for last night." The general sneaked a quick glance towards Miss Goodwitch, engrossed as she was in his notebook. He obviously didn't want to do this in front of her so he'd try and rush through it as fast as he could while her attention was elsewhere.

"What for, James?" Glynda asked from the side, looking up from the book for a brief moment. James cursed in his mind. She always did have the most amazing awareness of them all.

There was no pleasant way to get through it now, so he might as well be straight about it. "I was wrong in how I treated you as I would a criminal without first double checking my information. I swear nothing like that will ever happen again, to you or any other innocent."

The room's temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. "You _what_?" The hiss in that voice set even the normally unflappable Shirou's hairs on end as it slithered through the room. It seemed to choke James, leaving him speechless. For a long moment, the only sound in the office was the grind of gears. "_Well_?" The rage and fury was palpable in Glynda's voice as she stalked in front of General Ironwood. He did not meet her eyes. Finally, she seemed to understand that no answer would be forthcoming from the good general anytime soon.

"I believe that I should leave, Sir, before I do or say something I might regret." Glynda didn't see the slow nod from her superior as she handed the notebook back to its owner. As Shirou took hold, she took a moment to look at him, searching for something in his wary eyes. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, Glynda nodded as she seemed to have found what she was looking for and marched, pointedly ignoring James as he hesitantly reached out for her. The still somewhat pungent smell of veneer removal in the elevator made her eyes water slightly. As the elevator doors began to close, she heard Shirou shake off his confusion and reply to James' apology.

"You acted in a way that you thought was right to defend your people. I forgive you." The general's seemed shocked at that. As he got over his surprise, giving a nod towards the red haired kid. The matter settled, Shirou moved to a more pressing topic. "Headmaster, I've identified the intruder. I ran into her in the halls while I was cleaning," he announced.

"And she didn't attack you?" Ozpin asked.

"No, there were too many witnesses around us. Unfortunately, she recognized me as well." Shirou gave a small smile. "One of her classmates called her Cinder." Shirou would always remember the panicked look on her face at that moment. He knew it was one of the few times in his life where his E ranked luck would actually come through for him.

General Ironwood clapped a hand on Shirou's shoulder. "Good work."

* * *

"And then I was all like 'swipe' and he was all 'clang!' And then Ironwood came out of nowhere and was like 'fwahm' and the guy was all, 'Oh no you have defeated me. You guys are the most amazing fighters in the entire world. '" Ruby excitedly chattered as she acted out her tale. It was lunch time and Team RWBY had joined Team JNPR at their usual table in the cafeteria. Everybody was enjoying their food and the companionship of their fellow students. It made Ruby even happier when she saw that Blake was there as well, even if she was reading her book.

"I swear, you suck at telling stories," Jaune poked fun at Ruby. "Even Nora tells better ones than you. Hey!" Pulling a pea that had been expertly lodged out of his ear, he saw Nora with an unamused expression on her face. She held it for a few seconds before sticking a tongue out at him and turning back to her lunch with a giggle.

"You're just jealous that something that awesome didn't happen to you last night," Ruby defended herself.

"That's okay." Jaune leaned against Pyrrha, who was sitting next to him, and grabbed her hand. "We had a nice quiet night back at the dorm room after the dance. I think I could live without all the excitement." A rosy blush bloomed on his partner's cheeks before she smiled and squeezed his hand back. Unnoticed from besides Ruby, Weiss squirmed a little and looked away, an unreadable expression on her face.

Ruby made a face. "Ew. Don't go all sappy on me now that you have a girlfriend, Vomit Boy."

That nickname had always annoyed Jaune. It was a really common problem among people. "You're not the boss of me. Besides, one day you'll understand," Jaune argued and smiled a devious smile. A feeling of dread sat in Ruby's stomach. "Crater Face."

A spray of milk glistened in the air before the raucous roar of laughter from Yang joined it. "Crater Face! That's funny!" She calmed herself slightly before reaching over and settling an arm over a scarlet-faced Ruby's shoulders. "Don't worry, sis. I've got some cream that help take care of that for you back at the dorm room." Yang couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sister this flustered, but she'd certainly never seen her go that shade of red before. Heck, it almost looked like her name sake.

"Bu- I- He- Wei- It's caus-" Ruby stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence embarrassed as she was. She looked between all of her friends, some of whom were trying very hard to stifle their laughter and succeeding for the most part. Still, it kind of hurt. Luckily, Jaune seemed to notice and took pity on her, partly because it was his fault and partly because it seemed like Ruby understood.

"Actually, I was talking about the time she exploded on our first day and made a crater in the front courtyard." A look of understanding flashed across everybody's faces. Ruby flashed him a shy smile in thanks. "But you know what? I think I do see a couple of-" Jaune cut off whatever he was about to say when he had to duck, laughing good naturedly while doing so, in order to dodge a suddenly airborne chicken leg, courtesy of a bright red Ruby Rose.

Silence reigned throughout the cafeteria as the sound of a wet smack against bright orange hair bounced off of the walls like mad laughter.

Nora stood. On her hair, she wore a glistening patch of chicken grease. On her face, she wore a manic grin as she held up two pudding cups. "The Queen must defend her castle," she declared in a quiet tone that had teams clearing out as quickly as they could. They remembered the last time this happened. Some of them were still finding soda stains on their clothes.

"Nora, give me back my pudding cup," Jaune whined. It was the last of the chocolate flavored pudding cups and he'd barely managed to beat out the upper classmen for it. He knew it was useless though. Jaune recognized that mad gleam in Nora's eyes and he groaned when Team RWBY smiled at the challenge. It was going to be a long lunch break.

* * *

"Children, I thought I told you before: Do. Not. Play. With. Your. Food." Glynda had not been having a good day. First, she heard of a break in at the Cross Continental Transit. Then, she learned that James had potentially beaten or, worse, an innocent man. And now, despite her last warning to them several weeks ago, another food fight courtesy of Teams RWBY and JNPR had broken out. Somehow, the entire ceiling of the cafeteria had been coated in a fine layer of chicken grease. Luckily, Ozpin was still meeting with James, so, petty as it was, she could deal out at least a little punishment in order to let off a little steam.

"Normally, I'd assign all of you a month's detention for this, but this is not the first time this has happened." The whole group looked embarrassed at the reminder. A plate of spaghetti came unglued from its spot on the ceiling and dropped down between them. Odd. She could have sworn that wasn't on the menu until next week. "As you grow out of adolescence, you must learn responsibility for your actions. That being said, you will clean up this mess. By yourselves." The Schnee heiress started rooting through the pouch on her waist. "Without the assistance of Dust." A loud groan rang out from the group. It was going to take quite a while with the mundane method. Even getting cleaning supplies up there was going to take at least half an hour. They'd probably even miss some of their classes. She'd be sure to let their professors know. "It's not fair to our custodians-"

"We have custodians?" Blake mumbled to Pyrrha who merely shrugged. Blake had certainly never seen anybody with a mop, but it made sense. She wondered how else would a place as massive as Beacon keep itself as clean as it did. It was either custodians or drones that ran at night and she would have heard the latter. Had Blake been more curious and looked up the answer, she'd have been interested to know that Beacon employed the use of both a manned staff and several drones to run at night, specially made with faunus awareness in mind so as not to disrupt their slumber.

"-to make them clean up this mess while the ones responsible get off with barely a warning. Like last time." Glynda deftly typed out a message on her scroll to the custodial staff. She continued to lecture the students for a few more minutes before the the double doors opened. A guy in a janitor's uniform wheeled a large cart with several mops and buckets towards the nine of them. Glynda smiled a little and moved to meet with him.

"Oh hey, it's Shirou," Yang commented while their disciplinarian was talking with the new guy. Several heads turned towards her in confusion.

"You know him?" Ren asked. He didn't particularly take Yang to be one to associate themselves with people who looked so plain or boring looking.

"Weiss and I ran into him a couple weeks ago. " A goofy smile plastered itself on her face. "Well, more like Weiss ran into his bucket." The heiress fumed silently at the reminder, but said nothing. After all, there was no use denying what was true. Yang had the odd ability to find out the truth and why people might want it to not be known. If it weren't for her annoying habit to tease people about why they wanted to hide it, she'd have made a great private investigator.

"It's him." Ruby's voice sounded small at the back of the group.

"What? What do you mean it's him?" Blake asked. Ruby sounded confused and really hesitant. It was rather unlike her normal confident self.

"I mean, he... Never mind, I'll tell you guys later in the dorm room," Ruby cut herself off as the two school staff members got within ear shot. After bidding Shirou goodbye, Miss Goodwitch immediately set them on their task.

* * *

It was well after classes when the teams finished their punishment. Their muscles ached in places they hadn't thought possible. They had missed the rest of the day's classes, and, to make matters worse, they were expected to make up the work they had missed. Team JNPR had retired to their room, collapsing onto their beds immediately if the dull crashing sounds were any indication. Team RWBY agreed with that plan and sprawled themselves onto their bed covers.

"I thought spaghetti wasn't on the menu until next week," Blake complained. Yang groaned. Weiss rolled over and glared at her black haired teammate.

"Don't remind me. It's bad enough we had to deal with those grease stains on the walls, right Ruby?" Nothing. "Ruby?"

Ruby climbed off her bed and looked out the window towards the CCT's direction. "He was there last night. The janitor," she clarified. "At the building with all those knocked out guards."

"Wait," Blake interrupted. "What knocked out guards?"

"Do you guys not listen to me? I was talking about it at lunch before the food fight," Ruby whined. The other girls groaned at the reminder of their punishment.

"Okay, our bad. Tell it again, but start from the beginning. Don't leave out any details," Blake instructed. "And maybe leave out all the onomatopoeia this time." Ruby had the decency to look slightly embarrassed at that. Her reports had a tendency of including lackluster details, leading to sub-par grades and an irritable Weiss. Ruby cleared her throat and sat down next to Blake on her bed.

"I was getting some fresh air outside of the dance when I saw this dark figure running across the rooftops. I thought it looked suspicious, so I followed it all the way to the Cross Continental Transmit building."

"Where they store a ton of information and communication relays, right?" Yang asked.

Ruby looked at Weiss, who sighed in slight annoyance and nodded in confirmation. Ruby nodded. "That's the one. When I got there, I saw a guard knocked out in the bushes, so I signaled for help on my scroll and called for my locker. I sneaked in and there was an entire group of soldiers just beaten. Totally knocked out and everything. I thought they were dead for a moment." She didn't mention how she froze for several minutes. It had been a moment of weakness for Ruby. The idea of them dying for their duty reminded her of her mother and what was ultimately the fate for most huntsmen. For those several agonizing minutes, it hadn't been the broken bodies of soldiers on the tiled floor, it had been her teammates and family.

Yang seemed to understand as she hopped off her bed to join her sister and bunkmate below her. She reached over and held Ruby in a comforting embrace for a long moment. Ruby smiled in thanks before continuing with her account of the previous night. "I saw the elevator was on the top floor when I called it, so I went up there. When the elevator opened, I saw a guy with red hair and a janitor's uniform over another unconscious soldier. I think they had a huge fight between them."

"What made you think that?" Weiss asked. She had moved to the edge of her bed into a sitting position, her dainty legs crossed in an elegant fashion.

"There were scorch marks everywhere and several of the windows looked like they had been blasted open," Ruby said. "I think one of them was a heavy Dust user, like you Weiss, only less controlled." Her partner seemed to puff up at the compliment. Weiss had always prided herself on her control over everything she could manage.

"Anyway, I fought him until that general from Atlas stepped in stopped him," Ruby finished.

Zwei put his front legs onto Weiss' crossed leg and she picked him up. When he settled into her lap, she started rubbing his belly. Weiss asked the obvious question. "So why was he here today?"

Ruby looked pensive for a moment. "When I met with Headmaster Ozpin, General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch were there as well. When I asked about him, they just said he wasn't a concern and winked at me." The four of them wondered what that could possibly mean. A wink could mean anything.

"Maybe," Weiss started. When the others' attention was on her, she continued. "Maybe he's involved in espionage."

Yang frowned. "That doesn't make sense. If Shirou's a spy, then why is he still allowed to be here?"

"Maybe they're keeping him around so they can feed him false information. I've read something like this in one of books Blake's leaves lying around," Ruby supplied. Luckily, nobody noticed the massive blush the faunus' face. She only had one book in her collection that had that scenario. Silently, Blake resolved to be a little more careful with where she left more private reading selections.

Weiss just frowned. "That just raises another question. Who is he feeding information to?" It was a painful question to ask. Shirou, if that really was his name, had been one of the few decent boys she had met here at Beacon yet. If he was a fake, did that mean the way he had acted was just a ruse? The thought killed the last bit of faith she had in teenage males.

It was Blake who spoke up after several minutes. "I think he's feeding information to the White Fang," she said quietly. "I don't know what they might be searching for, but they've been acting weird lately. We still don't know what they want with all that Dust. Plus, it fits their pattern of activity as of late." The others couldn't disagree with that. The White Fang had their own agenda.

Still, Yang had her own reservations about this. "I don't know. Doesn't that seem kinda reckless? If you keep a spy around, that gives them a chance to find real information." It was a good point. Nobody brought up how Shirou was a human, not with how Torchwick was running things that night at the docks.

"When I was talking to the headmaster about my being leader, he said he'd made more mistakes than anybody else in the world." Weiss looked shocked at that, and then a little ashamed. She hadn't realized what a profound effect her words back then had on Ruby. "Maybe he's making a mistake right now."

"Still..." Yang trailed off. If Shirou turned out to be innocent, she'd feel awful about it later and try to make up for it. She'd always been one to make up for her mistakes. "What if we're wrong? What if the headmaster knows what he's doing?"

"What if he doesn't? I remember the stuff that the other faunus had to do in the White Fang. They burned down government buildings, destroyed crops in small villages, and worse," Blake spoke darkly. "They killed people in their sleep. They slit their throats in the dark of night without the humans ever waking up. I will not let that happen here. Not at home."

Weiss set Zwei aside and took her place next to Blake. She grabbed the dark-haired girl's white, tightly clenched hand. "How about if we investigate him? If he's really a spy, there's bound to be inconsistencies around him. If we catch him doing anything bad, we can step in and stop him," she proposed. Blake considered it for a moment before agreeing.

"That sounds fine."

Ruby jumped up and took her signature leader stance. "Alright, let's do this! Yang, you and I will follow the suspect. We'll keep notes on him and record anything suspicious looking." Yang gave a toothy smile and two thumbs up.

Ruby turned towards her partner. "Weiss, you'll check out any information around him like we did last time." Weiss nodded. It wouldn't be difficult to make up a cover story for why she needed his profile. She could simply say she wanted to see if he'd make a good personal butler. If they turned out to be wrong, it wouldn't exactly be untrue. He did keep a well kept academy.

Finally, Ruby pointed to the last member of her team. "Blake, you can... Umm, you can... Uhhh..." She scratched her head. She'd already assigned all the important jobs that she could think of.

Blake sighed and shook her head, grinning at her leader's exuberance. "I can search his personal effects and room. It would be pretty easy for me to do it. I'm able to slip in and out of places unnoticed easily-"

"Oh, because of your ninja shadow thingy, right?" Ruby chimed in.

Blake looked confused for a moment before understanding what she meant. "No, Ruby, my semblance isn't so amazing that it turns me into shadow. It just lets me make clones from it, and all they're good for is taking a hit before vanishing," Blake grumbled bitterly towards the end. "I'm good at stealth because the White Fang trained me in it for covert missions before I abandoned them. Sorry." She added that last bit as she noticed Weiss wince next to her. The white haired girl just waved it off and let her know that no harm was done.

Their roles assigned, Team RWBY jumped up and struck a group pose. "Alright, let's go Team RWBY! Let's catch this spy!"

* * *

Shirou walked down the busy streets of Vale. The sun was setting and he had just disembarked one of the airship that ran from Beacon to Vale. In his back pocket was a list of popular restaurants and tourist attractions that Ozpin had given him. Right now, he was wandering around the entertainment district, looking for something interesting to pass the time.

"Shirou, is that you?" a voice cried out from the crowd around him.

He stopped and peered around trying to find the owner. "Sandy?" It was the faunus he had saved before he met Ozpin.

Red hair framed around blue eyes filled his field of view. "It is you!" she cried exuberantly. Then she punched his arm hard, an angry expression marring her face.

He cried out and hopped away from his attacker, bumping into somebody. After apologizing to the rather gruff gentleman, Shirou demanded, "What was that for?" He didn't appreciate a friendly face coming out of nowhere and ambushing him. He'd gotten enough of that in the Holy Grail War.

Sandy crossed her arms and scowled. "That was for leaving me and Ronny behind at the diner. I didn't get a chance to thank you properly yet." While she was happy that he had least stuck her with the bill, something she had never thought she'd be grateful for, she was more than annoyed at him ditching her before she could do anymore for him.

Shirou sighed. "You did, remember? That meal was really filling. I still feel bad about leaving you with the check." Somehow, his attempt at trying to appease her, like they did with every other female he had ever known, failed miserably.

"Did our lives mean that little to you? That it was worth the price of a couple cheeseburgers and a milkshake?" she seethed at him. Whereas Sandy had expected him to be at least a little cowed, Shirou seemed to find a foothold in the argument.

"Not in the least. You may not remember, but I collapsed from hunger," Shirou recalled. Sandy did not remember. The night had been a whirlwind of action and emotion. It was only natural that she'd forget that detail amongst all the other events of that night. "I hadn't eaten in more than a week. You saved my life that night just as I did yours. So how about we call it even?"

Sandy put a fist up to her chin and hummed, her brow furrowed in thought. "Nope. I still owe you. Ronny ended up paying for the meal." At Shirou's frustrated sigh, she added, "So how about I show you the fun parts of town? Come on, it'll be a night to remember."

Well, the headmaster did say he was supposed to enjoy himself this weekend. Maybe he'd find something to pass the time while he was in town. "Sure." Sandy squealed and latched herself onto his arm. She started dragging him through the busy streets and pointed at various attractions, chattering excitedly all the while. Shirou allowed himself to be pulled along while he watched her bemusedly.

Following them some distance away, Yang and Ruby remained hidden in the crowd, using their training to silently pass pedestrians. "Do you think she's his contact?" Ruby asked Yang. They shuffled amongst the other night-goers, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. They tried to get closer in earshot, but the crowd started to thin out close to them, meaning they would risk exposure.

"I don't know Ruby. I think he's just on a date," Yang replied. It was more boring than she'd expected to just watch somebody without doing anything else. It also gave her an uneasy feeling. "I don't feel right doing this. Maybe we should give them some privacy." She remembered when their father had tailed her on one of the few dates she went on. When she found out, she had a massive argument with him immediately. Her date had felt uncomfortable at the sudden outburst and the idea that they were being watched constantly, so he had excused himself for the night and barely talked to her ever again. Yang still felt bitter about that. He had been one of the few guys who didn't constantly stare at her... gauntlets.

Ruby looked nervously back towards the idling couple in the distance. "The way they acted when they met didn't seem too friendly. Maybe this is just an act, meant to through people off their trail. Besides, what if he really is meeting with the White Fang? If we lose him now, we might lose him for good." Yang watched the lights from the street ads dance in those silver eyes for a few moment and thought. She knew her sister better than anyone, and Ruby wasn't going to stop just because she was alone. If, on the somewhat unlikely chance that Shirou really was a member of the White Fang and he didn't appreciate being followed, Ruby was going to fight, Yang was going to make sure that she wasn't going to fight alone.

She blew a lock of golden hair out of her eyes. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

The small scratch of metal against metal was the only sound in the darkened hallway. It was past the point of day where students were allowed to walk down these hallways. Only staff members were allowed here where some of them resided during the night. Hidden partially in the shadows of the large corridor, Blake worked in relative quiet as she tried to pick the lock of the White Fang's spy.

A click sounded as the tumblers of the lock fell into place and granted her access. Before she entered, Blake made sure nobody had seen her and quietly slipped through the door. She flicked the lights on and pulled out her scroll. "Weiss? I'm in."

Back at their dorm room, Weiss was reading all of the data she had requested at the CCT. All of it pertained to the red haired janitor. "Nobody saw you, right?"

"Not a soul," Blake confirmed. She opened up the guy's closet. "Not much difference in outfits. Only uniforms and the several sets of plain looking clothes, all of which are exactly alike." She started searching for any hidden compartments or linings in the fabrics.

"Does that mean anything?" Weiss wondered. She wasn't nearly as adept at spy warfare as Blake seemed to be. She found a medical file and opened it up, looking through the list of injuries.

Blake stood up, slightly disappointed at finding nothing. "Well, spies tend to wear the same thing to fool people. It can't be anything too extravagant or stylish or they'll stand out. If something happens and it all goes south for them, they'll switch clothes to help hide their appearance. After all, everybody's looking for that guy in that one get-up," she explained. She had a lot of experience with that particular technique. She moved to the desk and started rooting through it. "Nothing in the way of personal effects either."

Weiss knew at least a little about the art of cloak and dagger. Watching drama movies had always been one of her favorite activities was young. She would pretend that she was the female lead in the movies before she realized the males got the happier endings. "That way, they have nothing that can identify them if they get caught, right?"

"Right. It also makes it easier for them to just leave at the drop of a hat too." Weiss paused for a second, and looked back towards Blake's bookcase. Her novels sat there silently, reassuring her.

Among all the office supplies and forms in the locked desk, Blake found up a spiral bound notebook. "I think I found something." She flipped through the notes silently. "Weiss, I think Ruby may have been right."

"What'd you find?" Weiss asked. Looking through all of these files had given her an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Something was off about them.

"I found a list of what look like coordinates and series of numbers next to them. Parts of these are even in code. I can't decipher them easily." There was no denying it though. This wasn't something an ordinary janitor would keep. It was something only a spy would write. The parts that were encoded looked like another language altogether, but Blake had been all over the world and she had never seen anything like this script.

Blake took several photos of the pages before she did a quick sweep of the room, trying to find anything else of note. There were several books that she'd remembered reading as a child when she was still learning how to read. Maybe he was from Mistral originally. They used an entirely different form of written language than the people in Vale did.

"I wonder how Ruby and Yang are doing," Blake mentioned as she fixed the room to look like nobody came in.

Weiss scoffed. "Knowing those two, I'm surprised they haven't called us yet asking for bail." She closed the file she was looking through, a cold ball of dread sitting in the pit of her stomach. She had figured out what was wrong with the files. She worried for her friends.

* * *

"Really? You work for Beacon? Shirou, that's amazing! They're incredibly selective about who can teach there! I mean, I'm not surprised given the way you can handle yourself, but still!" Sandy exclaimed. The two of them had found a restaurant on Shirou's list that close by. Sandy had directed him towards it after asking him if he had any plans for the evening. After showing her the list, she announced that whoever wrote it had great taste and 'certainly earns a thumbs up in my book!'

Shirou shook his head and took a bite of his meal. The restaurant they'd selected was decently priced and specialized in what Shirou would call western meat dishes, such as prime ribs and steaks. Somewhat cautious of how much money he was spending, Shirou had selected a honey-glazed pork chop for himself. "It's a little bit embarrassing to say, but I'm not a teacher there, Sandy."

"What?" Sandy was flabbergasted. "Why not? You've got to be better than most of the teachers there. I mean, I've never seen a huntsman fight, but still..." She pouted before shrugging and take a bite of her grilled steak. "Well, at least they have you doing something respectable." A delicate eyebrow raised at his blush. "Right? Shirou, why are you not responding?"

On the other side of the restaurant, Ruby was taking notes on anything that seemed out of place between the two. "Ooh, she seems mad. Guess she's upset that he got caught, right Yang?"

The busty blonde was slightly more preoccupied with the delicious prime rib that she'd ordered. "Oh my god, it melts in my mouth. Huh?" Quickly sneaking a look over her shoulders, she took note of the outraged dog faunus. "Maybe. Ruby, honestly, if they're just on a date, maybe they're talking about relationship stuff." Shirou's date seemed to calm down as he talked before laughing slightly. "See, he was probably just telling her what his day was like."

Ruby felt betrayed. Yang was her sister. She was supposed to take her side here and agree that he was a super spy. The way he had fought that night wasn't like any old janitor. That feeling when she first laid eyes on him, as she looked at him right now, it set her on edge. It was like he was out of this world, like he was from the moon or something. "Yang, what's funny about cleaning?"

"Well, he was supposed to clean up the food fight right?" Both took a moment to reflect on that. It had been fun to make it messy, but the after math was, well, messy. "Wouldn't you think it was funny if the people responsible, who usually get away with stuff like that, have to spend the whole day cleaning it up the way he has to every time?"

"But the way he fought-"

"Ruby, we attend a school for huntsmen. Maybe they make it so that everybody they hire has to be able to fight, you know in case the school ever got attacked."

Ruby poked at her dinner, a barely touched filleted fish. "Maybe," she admitted in a defeated tone. A stir of movement caught her eye. "Oh, they're leaving. Check please!" Yang groaned.

She really wanted to finish that prime rib.

* * *

"What is your status?" Emerald's scroll asked. Things had gone poorly for them halfway through the day. Apparently, the kid Cinder fought last night recognized her, even through that enhanced mask, and called the freaking military on her. Of course, since they'd been part of her team, they naturally guessed that Emerald and Mercury were somehow connected with the White Fang and the attack on the CCT. Well, they weren't wrong, but weren't they supposed to have evidence before trying to arrest them?

Whatever their justifications, the three of them had been driven out of Beacon Academy, a safe haven where they could claim innocence of the White Fang's movements while they collected information on soon-to-be key players. Now, she was alone in a dark alley, trying not to be recognized by anyone who paid attention to wanted signs. "I'm fine. My aura's down to about half, but I should be able to manage. How's Mercury?" she asked. While the playboy could be annoying most of the time, he was her partner.

Auburn eyes narrowed in the otherwise dark screen. It seemed like Cinder had the same idea as her and planned on staying out of sight in the shadows for a while. "Mercury has been compromised. He's currently in custody of the Atlesian army." Emerald's morale fell a little at that. Mercury, like Emerald, hadn't known too much about Cinder's plans, secretive as she was, but he had known a bit. Cinder would have to change a few plans to account for that now.

A rush of water surged out of the gutter next to her, carrying with it the acrid smell of old loose tar and decayed foliage. Emerald gagged a little at the stench. "That jerk of a janitor screwed up everything. First, he stopped you from completing last night's objective. Then, he was responsible for tipping the authorities off about us. And now, Mercury..." She paused. The thought of what was probably happening to her partner at the hands of General Ironwood, a man famed for his interrogation tactics, filled her dismay. "Mercury..."

"Is probably being tortured, yes." The cool and callous way her boss had finished her thought left Emerald aghast, though she didn't show it. She knew that, ultimately, they were nothing but pawns to her boss just as everything else was, but the reminder of Cinder's ruthlessness astonished her. "Anyway, get back to Mountain Glenn as soon as you can. We need to prepare for the next stage as soon as possible, understand?"

Emerald knew that if she paused, Cinder would know exactly what caused her to hesitate. "I understand. I'll be there before day break." Those burning eyes nodded in approval and the call died. Emerald pocketed her scroll and sighed despairingly. She took a moment to rest and reminisce bitterly about what caused her to get caught up in all of this before getting off of the wall she was leaning against. She peered both ways around the corner before taking off into the dead of night for the mountain as fast as she could.

* * *

"Thanks for the great time, Shirou," Sandy thanked him as the two walked down the silent residential street. The night had died down and both of them were somewhat tired from the night's activities. Shirou, ever the gentleman, offered to escort her home and Sandy, happy to spend more time in good company, accepted his offer.

"I'm really happy for you, Shirou. You've come a long way in just a few weeks. You're off the streets, you have a stable source of income, even if it isn't what you deserve," she mumbled under her breath as they walked through the chilly night air. Her amiable smile took on a more teasing air. "And you're saving pretty damsels-in-distress."

Shirou blushed at that. "I was just doing what anybody would have done in my place."

Sandy giggled. The noise reminded Shirou of crystal bells in the cool night air. "Well no matter what, it was you who ended up saving the two of us." She stopped walking as a thought occurred to her. "That reminds me. Ronny never really thanked you." A hint of disappointment showed on her face as she crossed her arms. She had always been a little more forward thinking and willing to help others than Veronica had been, but Sandy had to remind herself that her flat mate had never really experienced what it was like to be discriminated as much as she had been in her youth. They say that that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and while they didn't show, Sandy had quite a few scars.

The two walked in silence, merely enjoying the pleasant breeze as it washed down the street and over them. The lights in the windows above the street started winking out and the stars above them slowly became more and more vibrant. They passed a wandering musician, probably the last of the street air performers for the night, as he sang his final song for the evening. It was a pleasant song, rich in emotion and love; it earned him a few coins from the passing pair, to whom he tipped his cap and paused briefly to say his thanks. It was a wonderful walk. But like all good things, the walk soon came to an end.

"Well, here we are," Sandy announced as she walked up the stairs to her porch. She unlocked the door and it swung open, giving him a glimpse into the place where his friend lived. In the background, he could see the static of a television and a head on the arm of the couch. It seemed Veronica was home. "Would you like to come in for some coffee?" Sandy asked, a pleasant smile on her face.

Shirou blinked. "I'd love to, but I should find a place in town for the night." Despite what Rin may have said about him back home, he wasn't a complete idiot. He realized that Sandy was interested in him, but the idea of a relationship made him balk. In the back of his head, a voice told him that he shouldn't do it, that in some small way, he was betraying Rin and his memories of her.

Sandy seemed to understand. "There's someone else, isn't there?" She laughed at the expression on his face that somehow seemed both solemn and embarrassed. "I knew it. Well, I'm a little disappointed, but good for you Shirou. You deserve somebody in your life that makes you happy. Still, if you need a place to stay for the night, I offer you a spot on my couch." A loud rustle sounded, followed closely by a bang and cursing.

A mess of brown hair cropped short appeared in the doorsill, a wrinkled purple shirt and pale loose shorts underneath it. "Sandy, can we talk inside for a bit?" She grabbed the faunus by the back of her shirt, earning her a surprised yelp as she pulled her in. Veronica looked back at Shirou who stayed on the porch. "Alone." Shirou nodded, not wanting to make a scene.

Before the door closed shut, he heard Sandy's strained "Shirou, don't you go anywhere. I swear to God, if I find you gone again, I'll-" He couldn't make out the rest as the door muffled the rest and the two retreated deeper into the flat. Sighing, he sat down on the porch and started watching stars above the roof tops. For a moment, he thought he saw a flash of several bright colors on the horizon. However, they vanished from sight as quickly as they appeared, so he just chalked it up to exhaustion from the exciting day.

"That was close!" Ruby whispered, her heart beating like a frightened rabbit's. "He almost saw us." As the night had begun to wind down, they couldn't stay in the crowds like they could earlier. As a result, they'd taken to traversing across the rooftops of Vale. They'd stayed unnoticed, but it had been touch and go at points. That red-haired spy was paranoid and constantly on watch, and he'd almost caught them a few times, just like he had right then.

Yang picked a few pieces of gravel out of her hair as she leaned next to Ruby against the roof ledge. "Ruby, this feels weird watching them. If he goes in there, we're calling it a night." Before the red cloaked girl could reply, both of their scrolls buzzed. Weiss had sent them both a message. "We should go," Yang suggested.

Ruby peered over the ledge one last time. Shirou was being pulled in by the faunus contact, the brunette human girl standing at one side of the door with her arms crossed and her hip cocked. Ruby wondered why she looked so unhappy. Probably bad news from their ringleader, Torchwick. The door closed before she could give it anymore thought though. Ruby nodded and reread the text before following after Yang.

_Ruby was right. Come back to the dorms. We need to plan._

* * *

It was dark in their room. In a fit of sudden paranoia, Weiss had turned off the lights in the room the moment the sisters walked in. When they tried to talk, Blake had put a finger to her lips, signaling them to speak softly. It was late and not only did the walls have ears, they were thin. They could hear the team next door talking at times, and the reverse was true. Soft snores emanated from the top bunk, Zwei having already fallen asleep on Ruby's bed.

"So what'd you find out?" Ruby asked. She sat cross legged in her pajamas on Weiss' bunk while Yang lay on her stomach on Blake's, kicking her legs mildly in the air.

"I went to the CCT today and asked for Emiya Shirou's personnel files. It was an easy enough task," Weiss began. "He was born in Vacuo, he moved here fairly recently, he got in an accident behind our school that left him in the hospital a month ago, and then he started working here two weeks later." She tossed a series of very thin manila folders to the other members of her team.

Blake looked through hers quickly before snapping her gaze back towards the heiress. "That's it?" she asked.

"That's it. No other records available."

Yang decided to play Devil's advocate when it seemed nobody else was going to. If they ended up accusing the guy and he was innocent, she'd feel guilty about this for a good long while. "Well, maybe they had trouble getting records across. Vacuo is in a desert you know, so maybe some of his other stuff got turned to static or whatever it turns into."

Weiss scoffed. "That could very well be the case, except I got these files all in one packet of information. If one piece of data was corrupted, all of these would be corrupted."

Yang grasped at straws. "Well maybe-"

Weiss interrupted her quietly. "Yang, even the ones I did get turned out to be fake." Yang paused at that and looked through the folder, trying to see how. Eventually, she caught it. The original date of creation. Every one of them was the night Shirou was hired. All of them except for one. "Wait, what about this one? The hospital one?"

Blake fielded that one. "We found him in the forest behind the school. Not having that on his record would look bad, like he's hiding something from us. More than he already is anyway."

"Okay, it looks bad, but maybe he's hiding from something. Like, maybe he took a stand against the White Fang or some underground crime boss and they're trying to find him and his family." A series of vibrations erupted from her scroll. Quickly, she looked at the mass flood of pictures that Blake just sent her.

"I found those in his room. They were in a notebook. Some of those characters are part of a cipher. It's not one I remember from the White Fang, but they could have changed it since I left." She watched her golden haired partner scan through the images, shifting into a sitting position at the edge of her bed so that Ruby could look through them also.

"I recognize some of those coordinates. They're areas around the school where I send my locker to when I get a challenge from a classmate. But what do these numbers mean?"

It was Ruby who answered her question that time. "It looks like architectural notes. Those are measurements. It looks like he was searching for weaknesses here," Ruby said quietly, letting all the blood in the room freeze cold at that revelation. Ruby was easily the most experienced with engineering of them all, having designed Crescent Rose and even having helped Yang create Ember Celica back at Signal Academy. For a while, she'd dabbled in architectural design, if only so that she'd know how to make big buildings go boom. Only for when it was needed of course.

Yang wasn't the only adrenaline junkie in the family. Ruby just indulged in it far less.

The implication of what that journal meant left horrible fantasies and scenarios playing in their heads. They all too easily pictured Beowolves ambushing students from out of nowhere, Ursas running rampant in the courtyard, and Nevermores carrying hapless innocents to drop them to their deaths. Then, without the newest generation of huntsmen, nobody would be able to protect Vale in time as the Grimm spilled out into the city.

In one night, an entire kingdom would go up in flames.

Yang ran a shaky hand through her mane. "So what do we do?" She looked at her closest friends, looking for an answer.

Blake's steely eyes held her gaze. "We stop him," Blake declared. Yellow eyes narrowed in grim determination. "Through any means necessary."

"Woah, hang on. Maybe we should go to Ozpin about this," Weiss suggested. Things were escalating quickly. She'd been all aboard for spying on Shirou, on this traitor to all souled beings, but murder was a huge step. She glanced at Ruby. Seeing her partner just as shocked as she was at Blake's suggestion was a small comfort.

"He knows already," Blake reminded them. "But he's doing nothing about it. It'll just be a waste of time. We need to take care of him." That almost crazed look in Blake's eyes reminded them of how she acted before the dance. Afraid to lose their friend to that again, the rest of Team RWBY reluctantly nodded. They spent the next two days planning and preparing.

* * *

It was a late Sunday night when Shirou finally passed through the front gates of Beacon Academy. It had been a busy weekend for him and he was almost tempted to take an eager Sandy and a somewhat reluctant Veronica's offer on staying one more night. Still, he had to prepare for the next day. He supposed that he was lucky. The teachers had to prepare for a six day work week while he only had to work five as a custodian. The students shared the teachers' pain, weekends for Beacon only lasting one day for them as well.

The academy only seemed too eager to train the students there to an acceptable degree as fast as possible. It was understandable considering the Grimm threatened to destroy their way of life. Shirou thought it must have been rough for the students given the demands and high pressure, but to his surprise, all of them seemed well adjusted and happy. He briefly entertained the thought of them, under the right circumstances, being likely candidates for heroes back in his world. He dismissed the idea though. His world had long become incapable of creating any more heroic spirits. Archer was the only exception, having sold his soul to the World in exchange for his ideal. Even then, he wasn't a heroic spirit, but a counter guardian.

The night was still. The clock tower above tolled the time. Shirou noted it was only a few hours until dawn. He'd need to get to bed soon if he wanted to be able to function normally tomorrow morning. Shirou turned around a corner and into a courtyard, making his way towards where the wing his quarters were located and enjoying the ambiance. To his slight surprise, somebody moved into sight as he reached the center of the courtyard. It was a small girl, swathed entirely in red. She seemed familiar somehow, but Shirou couldn't remember where he had seen her.

He called out to them. "Excuse me, miss? I'm sorry, but it's far past curfew. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody if you head to your room before anybody else comes." The red cloaked figure said nothing, opting to stand in his way.

Footsteps to his right, left and back echoed menacingly, letting him know that he was surrounded. Shirou instantly went on alert. Everything about this screamed an ambush to him. His instincts were justified moments later at the sound of metal unsheathing and bullets chambering. The girl pulled out a scythe larger than she was. Shirou prepared himself.

"Trace on."

Red, white, black and yellow charged him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**1\. I'm not dead... yet. I've just been tired and busy. Midterms and papers abound, but there was a lot of Hearthstone and Pokemon in there as well. Seriously though, I had a great deal of writer's block with even getting this chapter started. Nothing came out the way I wanted it to. I probably rewrote the first scene like four or five times. Even now, I'm too entirely pleased with it. There's a chance I may rewrite that scene, and if that happens, I'll rewrite this note.**

**2\. Thanks to Madgamer2k7 for the cover art. He's a pretty cool person, and his artwork is pretty good.  
**

**3\. This is pretty much the extent of what you're going to see in terms of OC. Sandy has served her purpose, which I designed her for in the first chapter. Likewise, we aren't seeing anymore of Soldier Carmody. Shirou may think about them from time to time, but Sandy and Veronica have sung their last lines and put away their mics.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


	6. Scrimmage

**Fate/Stay Night belongs to Type-moon and RWBY** **is the property of Rooster Teeth Productions, neither of which I am affiliated with. I do not profit off of this story.**

* * *

The clash of metal rang out in the courtyard. A flurry of steel and iron whirled in the pale shattered the pale moonlight. Sweat beaded on the girls' faces as they all tried to duck and weave from defensive slashes and tried to block whatever they couldn't. Strain showed on Shirou's face as he fought as well.

One on one, he'd have won easily, but all of them were fighting him at once, making it harder to match them. More than that, they obviously had experience in fighting as a team, making counter-attacks more difficult for him to capitalize on as they covered each others' openings. Archer's style of purposeful weaknesses would have drastically reduced effect here as it was meant for proper single combat. However, he was still a greater fighter than them. They'd yet to land even a single blow while he had landed glancing attacks on all of them, though the black haired girl was especially hard to hit.

In a way, he was almost glad to finally be able to fight like this. He wasn't suffering from starvation, nor was he blinded and deafened. No, he was at the peak of his strength, having just come back from a relaxing and reinvigorating break. He was fighting without any disabilities and with full mana. His circuits thrummed with power as he deflected another punch from the blonde, the explosive shell careening over his shoulder to destroy the bust behind him. He grimaced as he heard it shatter. He'd have to clean that up later.

Yang. They'd met briefly in the hall that one time, her and the white-haired Weiss. She'd seemed so earnest, but for her to attack him like this, a scary expression on her face like this... he didn't know what to think. They certainly weren't offering any explanation for the sudden attack and he was too preoccupied with not getting hit to ask why.

He tumbled through the soft grass. A series of swift scythe strikes struck the air where he had been only moments prior. They'd left the courtyard a few minutes ago, the fight quickly shifting as he pivoted and dodged to avoid their bullets and blades. Weiss had managed to slip past his guard with a thrust and tried to slash at his torso, but he managed to meet her rapier with Kanshou and shunted the lighter blade to the side and threw a blow at her open guard with Bakuya.

The one in red placed herself between the white-haired girl and the white blade in a show of speed that reminded him of previous battles. She guarded the duelist with the haft of her massive weapon and allowed Weiss to gain some distance. As she tried to return his strikes with her scythe, Shirou couldn't help but notice that her style seemed familiar somehow. Had they fought before?

He ducked underneath a horizontal slice and readied himself for another attack. The four girls presented a unified front, their stances well guarded against any attack he might throw at them. He was about to rush and charge at them again, but a sudden click at his feet gave him pause. He looked around him and took note of where he was. Wait. Wasn't this where Ozpin said the new students started their init-

Team RWBY watched as Shirou was launched into the forest, a startled yelp escaping him. Each of them allowed a smile to grace their features. Ruby pulled out her Scroll as she and the rest of her team readied themselves on the other platforms and sent a brief audio message.

"He's on his way. Get ready for Phase Two, guys."

* * *

The early morning dawn was beautiful in this world. The sun was just cresting over the mountain's summit in the far distance, framed by pink and orange clouds as it rose. Shirou made a mental note to get up earlier in the future so that he could enjoy it more.

Of course, that was for later when he wasn't falling out of the sky.

The ground was fast approaching, the sharp looking tree tops jutting like spears out of the ground as if to impale him. It was like the very world itself was trying to kill him. He pushed the thought out of his mind and allowed the Married Swords to dispel, choosing instead to create a blade that would aid him here. A flash of light and instead of twin scimitars, he held a nameless kusari-gama with a rather long chain that had once been wielded by an expert. Spying a thick tree not too far from his flight path, Shirou threw the chain and hooked the blade into the bulky wood of the tree.

Immediately, the length went taut and Shirou found himself spinning through the canopy around the trunk. He reinforced the whole of his body, letting the sharp branches tear through his clothes only to leave him only slightly scratched. Shirou slammed into the base of the tree hard and despite his reinforcement, he found himself staggered enough to unwittingly let go of the kusari-gama and drop onto the forest floor below.

He took a few moments to gather his breath and figure out where he was. He spied the academy off in the distance, towering above the tree line. Picking himself up off the cold hard ground, Shirou started moving. Staying where he was was a bad idea. It was enemy territory and his enemies have had who knows how much time to set up hazards for him out here, meaning that they knew the area better than he did. He'd need to tread carefully until he got into open air.

* * *

Yang had been split up from the others after the launch, but they'd already planned for that. The traps that they set up over the past two days was worth any detention they were going to get just cause they skipped a few classes. They were gonna catch this guy and put an end to whatever he had planned!

Ruby used her tried-and-true landing strategy of hooking her scythe into a branch and spinning to bleed off any momentum. Gotta meet with the others and start pushing him towards the ruins. Gotta catch this guy before he gets any more information back to the White Fang. Gotta start working with Blake more on long distance running. Phew. She could afford to take a short breather.

Weiss launched herself from glyph to glyph and double-checked the hazards they'd set up as well. Flying through the air, she calculated how the fake janitor would run into them based on where he'd landed in the forest. She broadcasted the necessary coordinates to everybody. For a brief moment, the idea that this was overkill crossed her mind.

Blake slunk into the shadows and started running towards where Weiss said the infiltrator would be. As she neared him, she slowed down and crouched in the shade of the trees, trying to avoid being seen as much as possible. When she caught sight of him, she waited for the perfect chance to strike and start pushing him towards the others. If their earlier achievement in luring him to the launch pads was any indication, luring him towards the ruins would be easy.

Shirou was carefully picking his way through the forest, all of his senses focused on his surroundings. If anything was going to attack him, now would be the perfect opportunity. It wasn't just the girls he had to worry about, it was also the Grimm. Something about them set him on edge, but he chalked it up to his growing awareness of dangerous things, like Gilgamesh or any of the other Servants. Or the Grail. He shuddered slightly at the thought of it.

A soft keening caught his ears in his distracted thoughts. He froze, looking down. Pulling itself taut against his leg was a wire. Carefully so as not to set off anything, he pulled his leg back, the wire following him until it came to an easy rest. Cautiously, he lifted his leg over the trap, gently making sure he didn't set it off as he did. He looked with sharp eyes, trying to find anymore triggers for a trap and seeing none. He set to continue his movement back towards the academy when a gunshot rang out.

Had he been hit? No, he wasn't injured anywhere. A warning shot mayb-

The sound of a large amount of air being displaced was ample enough warning for him to roll as far away as he could. He looked up and saw a large log with stones embedded in its bark swinging aimlessly where he had been standing. The gunshot hadn't been for him, it had been for the wire. Whoever set it off was a fool. He had been moving slowly and was an easy target. Somebody with that great aim would have been better off aiming at his head and taking him out immediately.

Still, he was out in the open and he couldn't see his assailant anywhere. He needed to start moving fast or else they might wizen up and start taking him more seriously. He'd take his chances with a trap over a sniper bullet any day. Wary of the shadows around him, he stood up and reinforced his body's speed and endurance.

Shirou started sprinting.

* * *

Weiss hopped off one of her glyphs and landed next to her partner. Ruby was sitting down on a small boulder, taking a brief break from all the activity.

"You okay?" she asked.

Ruby kept chugging from her canteen before finally pulling away, small rivulets of liquid trailing from the corner of her lips before she wiped them away with the cuff of her sleeve. "Yeah!" She burped slightly and Weiss waved away the noxious smell of consumed energy drinks. "Sorry." Weiss was about to chide her team leader for her selection and dangerously large consumption of the sugary drink when a series of blasts and crunches started sounding off in the distance. "We didn't place the traps that close to each other... did we?"

Weiss shook her head. "No, we just placed them far enough apart from each other so that he'd be pressured to move constantly while Blake hounded him." Ruby giggled a little at that. "Yes, yes, perhaps the wrong choice of words, but still..."

Ruby stood up from the rock she was resting on. "Maybe he's got a speed-based semblance like mine. Either way, we need to get ready." Weiss nodded beside her. Together, they moved towards the others.

* * *

Shirou broke through the foliage into a large clearing. To either side stood large shelters, years of age and weather shining through. On the other side of the clearing lay a misty gorge filled with a network of bridges and ancient pillars of stone. Before it stood an altar of sorts. He kept all of these in mind as well as the slope of the hills as he prepared to make a stand here.

Before, he couldn't have turned and fought in the forest, not without knowing where his attackers were and what traps were laid out for him, and there had been many of the latter. However, in this wide open space, he could easily take back the dominant position in this fight now. He quickly made his way to the highest hill in the clearing and retraced Kanshou and Bakuya.

Yang, Weiss, and the black haired one broke through the forest line cautiously. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Where was the red cloaked girl? His instincts screamed at him to move. As he dived to side, a patch of grass near him exploded. Peering over the edge of the hill, he saw her having taken up a spot on the roof of one of the shelters. She had somehow swapped her massive scythe for a large caliber sniper rifle. No, the scythe was the sniper rifle. Where did the people in this world get their ideas for weaponry?

A new battle cry reminded him not to lose focus. He turned and crossed his blades to block what he expected to be either a rapier, a katana, or gauntlet. His blades caught the full blunt impact head on as he buckled underneath the weight of a war hammer. The ground beneath him cratered slightly at the force of the blow.

"Hi!" the orange haired girl wielding the hammer, 'Magnhild' his Marble told him, greeted. Her cheerful grin took on a more sinister tone and her eyes gained a disturbing exuberance. "We're gonna break your legs!"

* * *

"Guys, please! We need your help! You're the only ones we can really trust with this!" Ruby pleaded. The eight of them had all crowded in the coed dorm room. They had explained the situation to them as best they could, how there was a dangerous spy at the school and how he was planning to destroy it.

"I don't know Ruby. You sure this guy is an enemy?" the blonde leader asked. The situation sounded sketchy, even to him, but if there was one thing that he knew, it was that not everybody was what they appeared to be. At her nod, he considered what they knew. On the one hand, this guy was a complete mystery and his records were obviously faked like his. On the other, there could be a lot of reasons why. Maybe deep cover or something like that, like a secret weapon? But if that's what was going on, who was he a weapon for? "Do you have a picture of the guy or something?"

Blake nodded and handed him a folder for him and the rest of his team to look at. "It was the janitor we saw in the cafeteria earlier today." A sharp intake of breath startled the others. "Jaune, are you alright?"

It was him. But he had seemed so nice. He helped him both those times. "I... I know this guy. I mean, I met him." At their silent questioning, he continued. "He helped me fix myself up one time when I slipped in the hallway," he paused to glare at Nora's tittering. "But there was one other time besides that. I was doing some training in the simulation room when he showed up and gave me some tips on how to use my shield better. Not just like in a defensive way, but using it as a weapon."

"So that's who taught you that finishing blow in your spar with Weiss." Ren ignored Weiss' slight glare. He hadn't cared what bullies thought of him, not since Nora became his friend. He was trying to get the facts straightened out. Opinions held no place here, not when they were talking about the safety of Remnant's next generation of defenders.

"Yeah, he pointed out stuff that even my dad didn't told me about, and he was the last person to use it." Jaune still talked with his family occasionally. They didn't know the full length of what he'd done since he left home, but they at least knew he was at a combat school. How could they not when he had taken the family sword? His father had been slightly disappointed in him at first, but when he started hearing about how far his only son had come, he slowly started to accept it. Eventually, he started sharing stories about his time when using Crocea Mors, but he admitted to surprise about Jaune using the shield as an offensive tool.

"So what does that mean?" Yang asked. What did it matter if some guy knew about how Jaune's weapon was used in the past?

"It means that somebody gave him records on how your family used to fight when they used that sword," Blake explained. "I'm betting that your family doesn't exactly go around telling everybody how exactly they fight? That would mean somebody has to have studied your family's fighting styles. I'm willing to bet that he has records on all of us and how we fight as well. I heard that those fake students from Mistral had records on all of us."

Despite everything, Pyrrha wasn't sure. Like Jaune, she too knew that very little ever turned out to be what it seemed. "I'm sure that those rumors are just exaggerated. I mean, who would want-"

"Magnetism." Pyrrha's back stiffened like it was made out of the iron she controlled. Blake's casual remark was more than enough to convince Pyrrha. She'd kept the secret of what her semblance really was so that she'd have the upper hand in a fight. After the events in the Forever Fall, she had even approached Ruby and Weiss and asked them to keep the secret. Her reasoning was that some fighters had the tendency to reveal all of their abilities during a fight. Those fighters tended to lose often. Smart huntsmen didn't reveal everything to always try and maintain an upper hand.

The members of Team JNPR looked at each other for a few seconds before reaching an agreement.

"What do you need us to do?"

* * *

Shirou pushed the smaller redhead away back into the air and kicked at her to launch her back some distance. As he righted himself from the kick, another bullet screamed past his ear, forcing him to dodge yet again. The girl was still sniping away at him from the roof and a couple of new combatants had entered the fray. He needed to prioritize. He needed to reevaluate the situation and determine his enemies' weaknesses and strengths.

Plan in mind, Shirou engaged Pyrrha. His blades clashed against her shield, her knees threatening to buckle under his reinforced strength. Ren leapt at him from the side, his outstretched foot aimed for the side of his face. Shirou broke off from the Goddess of Victory and ducked underneath the flying kick, green clad fighter passing over him.

"I got him," Yang yelled as she dashed into his guard from behind and launched a blast from Ember Celica. Shirou spun and barely diverted the blast away from his head in time, feeling the heat of the dust round blazing past his head. She kept up her barrage of explosive punches as Shirou kept trying to knock away the blasts. One blast went sailing past Weiss, creating a small crater in the turf behind her.

"Hey, watch it!" Weiss yelled at her teammate. "We're not trying to blast each other to smithereens!"

Yang growled. "I'm not trying to hit you, but he keeps knocking my aim off!"

"Then we should stick to melee. With this many people, our chances of friendly fire are too high while his are non-existent," Ren advised. It wasn't something they had considered, but the two teams didn't fight together often enough to stay out of the line of each other's fire. It threw off their plan slightly, but it had to be done. This guy needed to go down.

Ruby hopped off the roof at that and charged full speed at Shirou. Her wide and powerful swings allowed Yang to back off and forced Shirou to only dodge them lest his blades shatter against the heavier weapon. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the others start circle around the two of them. If he disengaged from the girl in red, one or more of the others would meet him and allow her to rest.

This was quickly becoming a dangerous battle of attrition. He had to take control of the flow of the fight now, or he would lose. Shirou ducked under one particularly wide attack, and rushed towards Ruby. She squeaked as he got close, but instead of attacking her like she and the others expected, he simply rushed past her.

Weiss was a pretty good fighter in close to mid-ranged combat, but unprepared as she was, Shirou's sudden rush caught her off guard. His blade caught against her skin, and her aura, and sent her staggering back a good deal. She watched as Ren moved to intercept him, but Shirou threw his white blade at Nora and tossed Ren as he tried to hook him with the prongs of StormFlower. Ren stuck the landing as Nora got clipped by the spinning blade, but Shirou caught him in the side with a powerful kick.

Shirou turned and met a furious Pyrrha. Nobody hurt her teammates and got away with it. The others watched in awe at the swift and deadly strikes the two traded. They'd never seen Pyrrha this serious, not even when she'd faced Team CRDL. What held their attention was the way Shirou raced to match her blow for blow with Kanshou while deflecting hers, landing a few strikes at first but quickly finding that his attacks quickly started missing somehow.

"Pyrrha, behind you!" Jaune cried out to his partner. Pyrrha dived to the side as Bakuya came flying through where she had been back into Shirou's unoccupied hand. Wanting to test something, Pyrrha slung Akoúo̱ at her opponent. Shirou responded in kind, flinging Kanshou. Shield and sword glanced off each other in mid-air, sending them sprawling away from their targets but returning back to their owners hands.

"So your semblance is magnetism," Pyrrha announced. Shirou didn't respond, instead choosing to bring his blades up into a more defensible stance against this skilled opponent. Everybody else took that as a confirmation though, thinking it was a display of discomfort as his opponents figured out one of his strengths.

"Wait, I thought his semblance is speed," Ruby questioned suddenly. "The way he moved through the forest and how he could keep up with my attacks, I thought for sure he had a semblance like mine." The others leapt into debate about his skills, positing theories about what he was capable of and what they'd sworn they saw he'd done. Shirou blinked as they did nothing but argue. Had they actually forgotten they were fighting him?

The sound of spell casting behind him let him know that, no, they had not forgotten him. Weiss had started charging at him from behind while the others played the distraction. He turned and caught her blade with one of his own and brought up the other to strike. As he tried to bring it down, the air around Bakuya turned black and it felt like he was swinging his arm through sludge. The white haired girl took advantage of his slowed attack and twirled out of the way.

To the side, he could see Pyrrha manifesting her semblance. A black aura enveloped his other blade as well and both started trying to jerk themselves from his grip, leaving him to struggle to maintain control over his weapons. Weiss took advantage of Shirou's wide open guard as he tried to hold onto his rebellious swords. She slashed at him from waist to shoulder, the first of a series of quick blows. It landed, the first real blow they had landed all night. However, something stopped her before she could finish her combo.

It was hot. Her face was hot. She nimbly jumped away from Shirou in confusion, putting some distance between the two of them. Weiss dabbed a finger gently at her face, pulling it away only to see blood dripping down her hand. Had she been struck? No, his weapons had been immobilized. She looked back towards the spy, her breath hitching as she realized what had happened.

He was bleeding. His shirt was torn wide open, exposing the shallow but open wound on his chest. Myrtenaster hadn't struck aura like she had expected, but flesh. The situation had just escalated, and, looking around, her friends seemed to realize it as well judging by the way they shifted uncomfortably. This wasn't like their previous fights where their opponents had either escaped or had ample amounts of aura before they were tired out. There was now a keen edge of lethality added, a dagger poised at someone's throat, and Weiss felt uncomfortable holding the handle.

Shirou brought a hand up to his chest, clutching his projections, and reappraised his situation. He was outnumbered, they knew the lay of the land better than he did and possibly had more traps laying around, they all had unknown abilities, and he had just been injured. They weren't holding back. Perhaps it was time he pull out some of the stops himself.

"_I am the bone of my sword._"

The air changed. The presence of threat that the man had before grew in strength. His power bolstered slightly, he ignored the black aura like it didn't exist, the blades now moving smoothly in his grasp. This was probably more than enough. Deploying it here against school children was more than likely overkill.

The students took up a ready stance, keeping in mind to not go overboard with their attacks. With this many people, all still fresh to fight, against somebody that was already out of aura, even if he somehow seemed more dangerous, it was almost certainly going to be an easy victory for them now.

Ren went soaring. He gasped, both in pain as the air was driven from his lungs and shock at somebody moving so fast. He skidded against the ground, coming to a stop against one of the ruined pillars. A beep rang out from his scroll. His aura was diminished already? He knew that he was physically the weakest member of Team JNPR, but this guy had brought him this low already? He tried to sit up, but the pain in his broken leg let him know that he wasn't going anywhere for a while.

His body felt like hot steel as he fought against the people who attacked him. Od pumped through his body, reinforcing his muscles' strength and his skin's toughness. The black air dissipated as soon as Pyrrha realized her semblance wasn't strong enough to keep him from moving, not as far away as she was. Weiss and Jaune were quickly knocked away as Nora brought down her hammer. She was knocked away and her scroll chimed at her to let her know that she wasn't able to continue any longer without risking serious injury, but she bought Yang an opening to engage him directly.

Yang was one of the best fighters in a straight forward fight in the first year class. Pyrrha was just right above her, the trick fighter that she was, with how she used Akoúo̱ and Miló and their mecha-shifting to great effect. However, when push came to shove, Yang was the one who could last the longest in a fight. She'd spent most of her time building up her endurance and skill in hand to hand combat. She was selective in what blows she allowed to strike her, stoking her semblance as she hit and let hit.

Even though she knew he was an enemy, she found herself enjoying the fight. This was a life or death situation. This had been what she'd been looking for when she signed up for Beacon. The idea that lives were in the balance. The thrill that only ever happened in action movies. This was it! The adrenaline built up in her system and continued to climb higher and higher as she started taking more and more risks, letting the thrill of it all dare her to take unnecessary chances. She twirled in mid-air to dodge a sword slice, and the horrified gasps that filled the clearing told her that something terrible had just happened.

She landed and dashed away from him. She looked at Ruby, "What's wrong? Is somebody hurt? Is there more of them? Did he get back up?" Her violet eyes flickered red at the thought. The idea that even more skilled fighters were coming for her to fight excited her. Her head felt light at the thought.

Ruby could only look at her with her eyes wide and her mouth open in terror. "Yang... Your... Your hair," Ruby struggled to get out.

"What about my hair? You know it gets like... this... when..." She didn't finish her sentence as she reached up to brush a hand against her flaming mane. Or what was left of it. She felt for the ends of her hair and discovered that her hair now barely reached her shoulders. She didn't move. She had spent years maintaining the beauty of her golden locks, and now it was gone. Because of him. As the others could do nothing but watch, she didn't move a muscle as her brain tried to reboot from the shock.

Rage. She felt nothing but burning hatred. Yang's now short cropped hair lit ablaze in white flame and the excited smile that once adorned her face was replaced by a cold and deadly look. She was going to kill him. There could be no lighter punishment, not for this. He was going to die.

She took off, the ground shattering underneath as she kicked off of it towards Shirou. Her fists shattered the black blade like glass and caught him right below the shoulder. The bone underneath shifted and he could feel the painful grinding of his arm moving in its socket. He backpedaled away, the flaming girl hot on his heels. Another wide haymaker met the flat of the other blade and kept going, Yang's fully red eyes visible through her shroud of flames as she caught his cheek and sent him flying. She leapt after him, bellowing a primal roar and cocking back a fist for the ultimate punch.

Shirou stopped rolling. He needed a weapon, one with range. Bolts of energy crackled around his kneeling form. Archer's swords were favored due to their low cost and easiness to trace, but he needed a weapon that wouldn't break so easily. Time seemed to slow down and he noticed the red cloaked girl holding her prized creation to her chest in fear and horror. He needed that weapon. Time sped up.

And gauntlet met scythe.

Through the fog of anger, confusion sparked in Yang's mind. Wasn't that Ruby's weapon? A kick at her midriff created some space between the two of them. They ignored the questioning murmurs. All that mattered right now was their complete attention on the other. Yang charged again and the fight continued.

It was like she was fighting Ruby. Only this time, Ruby wasn't pulling punches like she did in spars and she was hitting a lot faster and harder. And was male. Move for move, he copied her little sister's style, flourishing the blade in close and deadly spins when he was on the defensive and large sweeps of the blade when he was the aggressor. But something was off of about the way he fought with Crescent Rose and she couldn't put her finger on it. It was something crucial, but he was fighting just as fast as Ruby did. What the hell was going on?

Yang leaned back from one slice at her face and immediately knew she screwed up. She was looking straight down the barrel of the high caliber sniper rifle and saw his trigger finger squeezing down on the trigger.

A click and the scythe followed through as Yang fell over onto her seat. In her shock from not having a hole blown through her face, she didn't see the dull end of Crescent Rose's head coming towards her prone figure. A smack and she found herself being knocked into Ruby. She struggled to get up but she found herself completely drained, the near death experience from her little sister's weapon having pulled her from her berserker state. A muffled beep sounded from her hip pocket and she knew she was out of the fight.

_Warning: data corruption. Reboot from backup?_

Shirou ignored the slight headache. He had other things to worry about at the moment, like the girl in back who was looking around at her other comrades in a daze before realizing she was the only one left. He still didn't know what she could do as she had opted to stay out of the fight. However, given that she was looking rather cowed at being the last one of her allies standing, she probably wasn't too confident in her fighting abilities. Still, it was never a good idea to underestimate an enemy.

"Put down your weapons. You guys have lost." It was a fair suggestion and an accurate statement. Eight of them had attacked him in the dead of night on their terrain and were neutralized. Not only that but apparently, these were some of the most promising students of their year.

Blake bristled at his order. "And what? Surrender ourselves to you?" She knew what the White Fang did to human prisoners and traitors to the cause. Surrender was not an option. "Never!"

Shirou sighed and allowed Crescent Rose to fade away, replacing it with the less taxing white and black blades. "The people I work for are good people. No harm will come to you. I give my word on that." He would make sure only Ozpin talked to them. General Ironwood was pretty... zealous with his duty, but Shirou knew that he was just trying to keep the people safe. Still, Ozpin was clearly the better choice.

Ruby yelled at that. "You're a liar! The White Fang is only up to no good! You're going to torture us and then when you're done, you're going to kill all of us!"

"What! You guys didn't say anything about that when you asked us to help!" Jaune yelped. Blake sighed. Ruby wasn't wrong, but she could stand to learn to be a little more... tactful. No sense in getting the others riled up.

Shirou paused. He looked at Ruby, who was still lying prone underneath Yang, blinked, then looked back to Blake.

"You lost me."

Yang struggled to push herself up onto one arm to glower at him. "You White Fang scum are gonna destroy the school!"

Shirou's eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs. "You... You think I'm a member of a terrorist group?" The idea of him intentionally hurting somebody for the sole purpose of causing fear jarred him.

"Really now? You're not a member of the Fang? Then why are you threatening us?" Pyrrha asked. She was still a little cross at being so handily defeated. The sensation of an actual loss was new and it gnawed at the Goddess of Victory.

"What? You attacked me! I was just defending myself!" Shirou shouted in disbelief. These people really thought he was out to destroy humanity?

"Then why do you have all those plans about the school's structural weaknesses?" Weiss demanded. "How do you explain that one?"

"Because I asked him to collect them for me," a calm voice said. All nine of them looked towards the source. There, standing at the crown of one of the hills, was Headmaster Ozpin, coffee mug steaming into the cool morning air in hand. He held up one hand to forestall the questions already forming on the children's tongues. "Perhaps a change in venue would be appropriate. Let's continue this discussion once everybody has been tended to."

* * *

**Author's notes:**

**1\. I'm not dead yet, although I certainly feel like it. I'm coming off of sickness after dealing with finals and job hunting. It's all better now and I'm finally making money again, but damn, things felt bleak there for a while.**

**2\. I wanted to earnestly say thanks for all the great comments and messages you guys send. Honestly? I feel really happy knowing that at least a few people enjoy my writing so much that you guys ask for when the next chapter is, even after several months. I mean, I write this story for myself. I was disappointed by the lack of quality stories between FSN and RWBY, so I decided to make one on my own. To know that it's so well received and supported by everybody, it's almost enough to move me to tears.**

**From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You make me want to keep writing.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


	7. Reconciliation

**Fate/Stay Night belongs to Type-moon and RWBY** **is the property of Rooster Teeth Productions, neither of which I am affiliated with. I do not profit off of this story.**

**It breathes once more.**

* * *

"Don't worry Yang, it'll grow back soon enough," Ruby whispered. Yang barely heard her sister's attempts at comforting her. All she cared about was that the monster who butchered her beautiful hair was in the far corner of the headmaster's office and how he was quietly talking with the man himself where they couldn't listen. She watched as the school physician briefly interrupted them to see if he needed medical aide, but that lying jerk merely waved him off with a smile. Maybe it was a smile. It's hard to tell with inhuman monsters.

Yang felt her sister pull on her jacket sleeve, so she placed a hand on Ruby's knee to let her know that she heard her without tearing her eyes away from the duo. She tore her attention away from Shirou to discuss what they should do with the rest of her team only to find that Blake and Weiss had moved their seats away from her to chat with the still bruised Team JNPR. She was gonna quietly call out to them until a throat cleared itself to grab everybody's attention.

With his students now fully focused on him, Headmaster Ozpin began speaking. "Now, I'm quite sure that many of you have questions about our friend Shirou here," he said. "Well, we will answer all of them as best we can." Immediately, a huge clamor erupted from the seated adolescents. Patiently, he waited for them to quiet down before continuing. "Well then, perhaps we should begin with the most obvious question: Who exactly is Emiya Shirou?"

The grey-haired master of the school gestured towards his younger companion. "Mister Emiya here is indeed a janitor like I had told Ruby a few days ago. However, as you've found out, there is more to him that what meets the eye."Ozpin moved towards his computer and pulled Shirou's employee record to display to the two teams.

"Officially, his occupation is of a custodian, but in reality, Shirou is a security contractor hired by Beacon Academy as a result of a recent increase in criminal activity here in Vale. Part of his duties include noting weaknesses in the school's defenses and security." He noted that Blake looked particularly uncomfortable in that plush chair of hers. Next to her, her teammate had a hand raised. "Yes Weiss?"

"When we were..." Shirou met her eyes, only for the heiress to guiltily look away from him as she remembered that hot spray of crimson. "Investigating him, we noticed all his records were falsified. Why was this made a secret in the first place?"

Shirou answered that question, feeling slightly awkward having people talk about him but not contributing anything to the conversation. "It was decided that I would enter under false records as a precaution. That way, I could avoid detection from anybody who was researching the school's staff." It wasn't exactly a lie, but it skirted the truth. After all, these students may have acted with good intentions, but that was after they told others that he could fight and was involved in strange happenings. Ozpin has suggested that they not tell the students the whole of it and only confirm what they had already pieced together.

"What about that girl you were with over the weekend? Who was she? Your company's boss?" Ruby asked. Blake groaned and Weiss muttered something that sounded distinctly unladylike. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out why they were upset. "What? What did I say?"

"You mean to say Miss Rose..." Ruby's head snapped towards her headmaster as the disappointment in his voice reminded her so much of her father when she snuck out into the strawberry patch and he discovered that she was there and all of those delicious berries weren't. Her bottom tingled as the memory invoked phantom pains of the punishment. "That you've been spying on Shirou here over the weekend? It certainly would help explain why your team was absent from class on Sunday."

"Ummm," was the only thing she could utter in reply as her mind furiously worked to find a way to un-implicate herself and her team from something that Ozpin had known nothing about. "No?" she squeaked as she sank further and further into her seat, trying to hide from the disappointed look he was sending her. She glanced at the guy they attacked and found that he was rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Shirou sighed. "Sandy is a friend of mine that I met when I first arrived in town. She's not related to this in any way." A small thought nagged in the back of his head. That wasn't true, it seemed to say. It wasn't important, so he shoved it to back of his mind for later. Another stray thought took its place. "I have a question of my own. How did you find the notes I made about the school? I always either have those on me or locked in my room."

Blake raised her hand, swiftly lowering it when his attention settled on her. "Sorry." An awkward silence followed the apology as he connected the dots and groaned.

"Children," Ozpin commanded their attention once more. "I must say, I'm very disappointed in you. In the field, disobeying the orders of a direct superior would lead to serious consequences. If the mistake was as bad as attacking somebody explicitly identified as an ally..." His eyes lingered on Ruby as they swept over everybody in the room, who suddenly found how her shoes scraped along the tiled floor very interesting. "Then they could expect to be expunged from the Huntsmen forces altogether."

Nobody dared say anything. This was it. They were being expelled. They were going to be kicked out and blacklisted from ever joining the rest of the huntsmen. Although it was the blood rushing in their ears that they could hear clearly, it was the silence that was truly deafening.

"Luckily, this isn't on the field and you're not huntsmen just yet. You're children. You're not perfect. Nobody is. You will not be expelled." There was a collective sigh of relief as the tension left their shoulders. "However, you will be punished. After all, we tend to learn from mistakes when they are made memorable. Besides, don't you feel like Shirou deserves to be compensated for all that's happened tonight?" A few grumbles were uttered, but nobody said no. After all, the guy was totally innocent and anyone of them would be upset if the people who started it all got off without even a slap on the wrist.

"I'm glad you all agree. I'm assigning you all three weeks of detention with Miss Goodwitch. I will instruct her that you will be running core drills. I'm sure you'll give it your very best effort. In addition, you will be unable to participate in the upcoming missions until I feel that you are able to listen to your superiors. Instead of going on those assignments, you will be working alongside Shirou in his professional capacity." Glynda was right. He couldn't coddle these children forever.

"Oh Shirou, that reminds me. After you finish evaluating the school, you will continue in Vale proper if that's alright with you," Ozpin directed towards Shirou who nodded in acknowledgement, looking to be taking everything that's happened in stride.

"Excuse me. Headmaster?" A dainty, pale hand rose into the air, grabbing his attention.

"Yes, Weiss?"

"I don't believe Team JNPR should be punished," she asserted, shoulders squared as she met his gaze.

"Oh? And what makes you believe that?"

She breathed, running her argument through her head again. "They were only acting under the information that we gave them. They were only trying to help their friends in what was presented as a grave matter that held serious dangers."

Ozpin hummed as he considered that. "That is certainly true. However, they should have checked with any of our staff. We would have certainly checked into any possible threats, especially one as large as a possible terrorist hiding amongst our staff." He took a large swill of his coffee. The students in the room looked sullen and ashamed of themselves. Would it really have been that easy? Had they really wasted more than an entire weekend setting up useless traps and creating meaningless battle plans when they could have just asked a teacher for help?

He turned to Shirou. "What do you think? After all, you are a member of the faculty here and one of those involved. Do you believe Team JNPR should be punished?"

It took him a few moments to answer, but he gave the one that he thought fit best. "No, I don't believe they should be." Everybody stared at him in shock, his boss the only exception as a silvered eyebrow lifted questioningly. " Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided if they had gone to a teacher. I agree with that. They didn't, and because of that, a lot of people almost got hurt. But they weren't. Punishments are made to help teach a lesson, but there isn't really one to be taught here."

He paused, before rubbing his head. "Besides some common sense that is, but that isn't really something you can teach. If it could be, I might not be here right now." Both he and Ozpin shared a small smile at that. "I think this whole thing has been made memorable for them. They were only trying to help their friends."

"Very well. You make an excellent point. Team JNPR, you may be dismissed with the understanding that you are not to reveal to anyone outside of this room what you have learned today." Still stunned with relief at having dodged a torturous series of detentions with the harshest teacher in the school, they shakily agreed.

"You can count on us, sir! We won't tell anybody about any of this. Promise!" Jaune was all too eager to agree. Something about Miss Goodwitch terrified him. Besides the riding crop, that is.

"Now then, let's get the details of when you will serve detention with Shirou hammered out and then you girls can head to class."

* * *

Mercury Black was slowly losing his mind.

How long had it been since he'd seen the open sky? Since he'd seen anything beyond the inky blackness that was his containment pod? For somebody like him, a cool and suave dude that needed to constantly move and be free, to be denied that freedom of movement was maddening.

Sensory deprivation. It was an interrogation method that he'd have never expected from the violent General Ironwood. Generally, how this tactic usually played out was that they'd keep him locked up away from the world for long periods of time, and then when he was babbling like a loony, they'd offer him all sorts of goodies like fresh air and not being blindfolded when they took him to the bathroom.

Still, no matter what promises or bargains were made to him, he knew that there would never be enough compensation in the world to make up for what Cinder would do to him if he gave them any information about her plans. Cinder was a woman of extremes. She punished traitors horrifically, but she also rewarded loyalty. He should know. After all, how many times had he and Emerald willingly played executioners to traitors?

So he'd wait. He'd endure. Even if it meant losing all of who he was to this darkness.

Suddenly, he was blinded as light flooded into his tiny cell and chased away the shadows. It took him several long moments for his eyes to readjust, but when he could see clearly again, he was not surprised to see the great General Ironwood himself.

"Gotta say, not too shabby a place you run here. Can't say much for the view though." If the general was expecting niceties, he'd come to the wrong cell. Mercury, tired of being locked away like some broken puppet, decided to imitate the most irritating and despicable person he knew, if only to piss somebody off to relieve some of his tension.

Come to think of it, that was a really Roman-like reason to do it in the first place.

He shuddered lightly at the thought. "You mind telling the custodian to turn up the AC? It's cold as hell in here. Oh wait, that's right." Mercury smirked. "You gave him a concussion. Looked nasty from what I saw. Those tapes really are violent."

Ironwood clenched his fist and a fire lit in those stone-like eyes. For a moment, he thought the general was really going to hit him before that boulder-like fist opened again.

"I'm going to give you just one chance."

Mercury leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head to make himself as comfortable as he could. His smile was dismissive "Well, doesn't that just sound ominous. What's next? You going to tell me the fate of the entire world is in my hands?"

"No, I'm going to tell you that the council has seen fit to execute you as a traitor to the kingdoms of Remnant."

The shadows in his cell seemed much deeper than they had been a few moments ago. It felt like the world just fell out from under his feet. "Wh-what?" But... the council from what he'd heard was a bunch of tree hugging pansies. They were the ones who thought that all life was precious and that they needed every soul for their kind to fight against the darkness. What could have possibly changed their minds about him?

"We decrypted your scroll and found bits and pieces of your so called 'master plan.' Even the sound of it, working with the Grimm themselves, made you and your group too much of a danger to our way of life. The decision was unanimous. You're more dangerous alive than dead, and there's nothing you can do to make them see it any other way."

James grabbed the shocked Mercury's chin to pull his attention back to him. "Unless you start talking of course. So how about it?" Oz would be proud of him for sure.

Mercury swallowed loudly, his decision made.

* * *

It felt to them like the sun had gone down as quickly as it had risen. Their classes seemed to have come and gone in the blink of an eye. Her teammates were snoring now, the events of the weekend having finally caught up to them. Ruby had been fretting and obsessing about everything that'd happened these past couple of days. Blake and Weiss, on the other hand, they'd just been... distant for lack of a better word. Not from Ruby or Jaune or Nora or Velvet or anybody else, but distant from just her. She knew exactly why and it was another thing to add to her burdened conscious.

As a result of how the whole day had gone down, it was three in the morning when Yang Xiao Long found that she could not sleep. Sighing, she got out of bed and put on her shorts and jacket as silently as possible before she snuck out of the dorm room. Maybe a walk in the cool night air would help her clear her head.

She walked past the still broken courtyard, the night air nipping at the skin on her forearms and thighs, stretching it tight enough for goose bumps to form. She picked up the head of the bust that one of her errant blasts had knocked clean off, wiped some of the dust off of it, and settled it back onto the rest of the statue. Slightly proud, Yang stepped back to admire her handiwork, only to frown when it tumbled off with the passing breeze.

"Buddy, I know just how you feel," she muttered. Groaning, she shook her head and turned to continue her walk, only to find her partner watching from a small distance away.

"Lien for your thoughts?" Blake handed her a black blanket, which Yang accepted and wrapped around her bare shoulders gratefully. It was cold out that night.

"Blake? How'd I wake you up? Ruby didn't even stir, and I've been sneaking past her for midnight snack runs for years." The cat faunus gave her a funny look and pointed up to her bow, which wiggled slightly. "Oh... Right... I forgot. Sorry," Yang apologized, blushing silently as she remembered her friend's hereditarily enhanced hearing.

The black-haired beauty smiled softly and warmly. "You know, that's what I love about you guys. With the team, it's not about what I am, it's who I am." She started walking with her partner, joining her best friend on her midnight stroll. "You guys don't care about whether or not I'm human. No matter where I was before or who I was with, my race was all that really mattered."

"Blake..." Yang whispered. Moved by what her friend was saying, she drew her arm around Blake's shoulders. "We're your friends. We will never judge you. If somebody says something about you, point me at 'em," she grinned toothfully as she held up her free hand in a clenched fist.

Blake shifted at that, very uncomfortable in Yang's firm grip. "Right," she said cautiously. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that if you need to talk to somebody, I'm always here for you and I'm sure the others will be too. Especially if you need to talk to somebody about your... you know..."

"You mean my new do?" Yang asked. Blake hesitantly nodded, nervous that the reminder would turn her eyes red along with everything else that came with the phenomenon. "I am a little upset, but that's not what's got me up so late."

"Then what is it?" Blake tried to find out. The two of them had made their way out to the cliff where they had started their initiation and where they had thrown Shirou off into the forest. Yang sat down at edge, Blake quickly joining her, before pulling her knees up into a huddle underneath the warm blanket. She was silent for a few minutes as she worked up her nerves, her eyes fixed on where Remnant met the black sky.

"It's just..." she tried to start, before losing the words. She gnawed at her bottom lip as she stopped watching the horizon for any hint of the morning sun to regard her partner. Finding them again in Blake's concerned face, she tried to forced the words out. "When we attack that guy, Shirou, when he cut off my hair..." she trailed off, her nerve failing her.

"You were angry at him?" Blake guessed, doing her best to figure out what was the problem. This was the bombastic life of the team she was speaking with. If Ruby was its innocence, then Yang was the driving force, the soul. Seeing her this rattled, this meek, scared Blake.

"It was more than that. I wanted to kill him. I knew it was an accident and that he hadn't been aiming for my hair. Heck, I knew that if I hadn't been so careless and dodged that recklessly, I wouldn't have lost it all. But I couldn't stop it. I wanted his blood all over the ground," Yang admitted as she brushed the newly styled ends of her golden locks. She looked at her partner, who flinched away at her sudden intensity. "And you guys knew exactly how I felt."

Blake could only nod. She'd never forget that bloodlust in the air, that sheer rage that seethed and threatened to burn everything it touched like the flames that had enveloped the blonde. It was why she and Weiss had been avoiding her all day. They were scared of Yang. And she couldn't blame them.

Because she was scared of herself.

"Losing control to myself like that... It was the most terrifying thing I've ever felt, Blake. More than when I almost got me and Ruby killed." Was she the only one who heard how small her voice sounded? It made her remember of how every time she'd say she'd find her mother, she'd always come back with scratches on her flesh and tears in her clothes.

Slender arms warmed themselves around Yang's shuddering shoulders. She leaned into the embrace and sat in silence with the cat faunus who was still here despite her fear and embarrassment of it. What had she done to deserve teammates as great as this one?

What could Blake say? A misty memory brushed the surface, a remembrance of one that she fondly loved a very long time ago. "My father was a loving man. He had his flaws, but he was a great person at heart, especially when it mattered." Yang looked at her, conflicted violet with vanishing dashes of red meeting soothing amber. "He was easily flummoxed, but he loved so much. You remind me a lot of him, Yang. The way you take care of Ruby and how you got me to go to the dance. When your name comes up, I can't help but think of him."

The corners of the yellow beauty's lips turned upwards some as she put her the flat of her palm on her friend's forehead and pushed her gently. Blake smirked as she let go and watched the night sky above. "Lot of clouds tonight. You can't even see the stars," she noted idly.

The blonde nodded and shifted the blanket slightly, the warmth flustering her a bit. It now just rest lightly on her shoulders, threatening to fall off as she combed her fingers through her hair in frustration. She stopped being surprised about how short it was a couple hours ago.

"I still feel awful. The whole time we were watching him, I kept thinking to myself, 'Man, this guy's just on a regular date with some decent looking girl. He's a guy just like Jaune or Ren.'" Blake snorted. "Okay, maybe a less antisocial Ren or a less hammy Jaune." Yang cupped her chin as she thought about her fellow blonde's success with his love life. "Actually, now that Jaune's going out with Pyrrha, maybe just 'Jaune.'" The brunette just shrugged. She didn't really care who Jaune was going out with.

"Anyway, my point is... I feel really bad about what we did. I mean, we even made him bleed and we still wanted to keep fighting. At least, I did."

Blake leaned back and lay on her back, the late hour and exhaustion of the day catching up to her. "Well, I don't know how you can fix, but maybe an apology is the best place to start."

Yang grimaced. "I can't. I mean, it's not that I don't want to." She blurted out when she caught sight of Blake's inquisitive look. "I've tried a couple times, but when I couldn't just get the nerve to walk up to him and say 'I'm sorry for trying to kill you this morning.' I just feel... feel..." Her eyebrows came together as she searched for the right word.

"Embarrassed?" Blake guessed.

Yang jerked away. "W-What? No! O-Of course not!" She wilted and kicked her legs out over the edge of the cliff, idly kicking as though she could swim into the air away from the truth. "Yeah. I guess I'm just so used to being the big sister who's always right about life and getting along with people. It's a little weird, you know?"

Blake shifted onto her side and pulled her legs in closer for warmth, her mind heavy with sleep now. She hummed in agreement. "Still, you can hardly go wrong with an apology. Who knows? Maybe he'll accept it." She yawned and her eyelids closed.

Yang lay down next to her partner and listened as the black-haired beauty's breathing grew light and shallow. Yang just watched for a moment before she noticed that Blake was shivering slightly. She took the blanket and gently draped her friend with it, smiling as the faunus nestled into its warmth. Yang chuckled gently, stood up, and gingerly hefted Blake into her arms, careful not to wake the sleeping girl.

Her head felt a little muddled as she made her way back to the academy. However, she felt no better about her situation despite Blake's attempt at comforting her as she walked by the broken bust. She kicked the cracked head gently and watched it skitter against the ground until it thudded against one of the wooden benches.

"Maybe he'll accept it, but what if I can't?"

* * *

"Weiss, you need to be firmer when you sweep. You're not moving any of the dirt," Shirou advised. It was a free period at Beacon Academy and Shirou and the girls were roaming around the halls. Weiss grumbled and started sweeping harder.

"This isn't exactly what I had in mind when we were told to help you in your professional capacity," Blake commented from the window she was wiping down.

"This is my professional capacity. I am a custodian," Shirou responded, noting down in his notebook that the stair case leading to the next floor was the only easy way in this wing of the building between this floor and the next. He capped his pen and pocketed his notes before turning back to Team RWBY.

Yang and Weiss were both sweeping the hall while Blake was being careful not to fall off her ladder while she cleaned the window. Their leader, Ruby, was just coming back with one of several mop buckets, a white mask covering her mouth to keep her from gagging at the strong smell of the cleaning chemicals.

"That's not what I really meant. I meant more of..." Blake looked around carefully, searching for anybody that might overhear. There was nobody else in the corridor but them. "The other kind of work you do."

Shirou shrugged. "Honestly, that part of my duties isn't needed all that often. There hasn't been much in the way lately." The White Fang had been rather quiet as of late aside from them occasionally robbing small stores in town. It was a large departure from how busy they'd been up a few weeks ago. It reminded Shirou of the rare lulls in action during the Holy Grail War, and it was setting him on edge.

Yang and Weiss finished sweeping just as Ruby came back with the last of the buckets. "Why did we have to sweep the hall if we were just going to mop it anyway?" Weiss complained. Still, she took a mop

"It's to pick up large pieces of trash and bits of rock so that the mop doesn't drag them along the floor and scratch it up." Shirou explained patiently. He had gotten the impression that the heiress was a little sheltered, but it was kinda disappointing to see that he was right.

"You didn't do many chores back home, did you?" Blake deadpanned. She picked up one of the other mops and leaned gently on hers. She had finished cleaning the high windows a few moments ago and was glad for it. The saying about cats landing on their feet was a common enough phrase, but she had no desire to test it any time soon.

Weiss crossed her arms and pouted as the sisters of the team giggled at her expense. "Of course not. My family had a servant do this kind of stuff when it was needed. What? I have no idea what's so funny! Stop laughing!" She yelled as the two had to cover their mouths to hide their laughter.

"We-We're not! S-See?" Ruby barely managed to get out as she grabbed a mop and started walking towards the end of the hall to get started on her share of the cleaning.

Yang, still grinning widely at Weiss, reached to her side to grab the last mop, only to grab empty air. Confused, she turned only to find that Shirou was holding it out with a tiny smile. The grin wobbled as she hesitated before she grabbed the handle and walked away quickly.

Shirou looked at Blake, who could only sigh in slight frustration. She shrugged and shook her head before she started mopping. Shirou watched Yang's back for a brief moment as she moved across the floor before putting the matter out of his mind. It probably wasn't his business anyway. He dunked the head into water before joining Blake.

It was a pleasant silence. The two of them were both individuals that felt the need to fill empty silences. Both were content to just work and listen to the girls at the other end of the hall yell and laugh. Blake chuckled at one joke about Yang not wearing a combat skirt like the diminutive duo did where the fiery blonde responded with a comment about never being able to wear white again.

She regarded the guy next to her as she ignored the shrieks of fury, his face neutral as he went about his cleaning. He wasn't bored or annoyed with what he was doing, but focused. He was doing the task that was assigned to him and, by delegation, them. She knew that he could have forced it fully onto them and they'd have accepted it, if begrudgingly, but he chose to work with them instead. At least he wasn't a total prick.

"Not going to write in your book anymore?" Blake asked. In some ways, he reminded her of Adam with that silent way he did what he was supposed to, never questioning it and sometimes even looking forward to it. Maybe he just reminded her of the past. That was probably why she even bothered.

Shirou paused. He hadn't really expected her to say anything. "There's nothing more in this wing of the school. At least, not that I could find this time."

"'This time?'"

He nodded. "Yeah. I've finished my assessment of the school. Now I'm double checking everything in case I missed any flaws."

"Wow, you're really thorough," she remarked, now fully regarding him. He certainly had a better work ethic than some of the other guys in class.

"Well, I just want to make sure everybody here is safe." He paused and watched the impromptu wrestling match that had erupted. Yang seemed to favor the half nelson while Ruby tried to grapple her legs as Weiss tried to assist her by putting the blonde in an arm bar.

Blake smiled and softly laughed at the sight. It wasn't often she got to see Weiss act so unlike her usual prim and proper self. Out of the corner of her eye, Shirou shook his head gently at it all before turning back to his work. She bit her lip and the bullet.

"I'm sorry."

Shirou was confused for a moment before he realized what she was talking about. Waving his hand as if to brush off the matter entirely, he replied, "It's fine. Really, I probably would have done the same thing." He paused for a moment before he turned to regard her fully. "I do appreciate the apology though. Thank you."

"People don't usually thank others for apologizing," Blake remarked as she resumed cleaning the floor.

He could only shrug. "Maybe if they did, things would be better."

Blake thought about the truth of that statement for a moment before she sighed. "Yeah. Maybe things would be better," she agreed bitterly. Idly, she realized that she'd been mopping the same bit of tile for a good couple of minutes. Deciding that the floor was probably clean enough, she moved onto another spot and a new topic. "About Yang..."

"Yes? What about her?"

"It's probably not my place to say, but she does feel awful about what happened. She really wants to apologize to you, but she feels embarrassed about what she tried to do."

"You mean when she tried to kill me?"

Blake blanched. He wasn't wrong about, but it was so awkward to hear it put so bluntly. She nodded. "She'll own up to it eventually. It's just... Would you mind..."

Shirou smiled softly. "I can wait. I'm not in any particular rush. Besides, it's not the first time somebody really tried to kill me."

Blake was about to respond with a concerned question, but she was cut off by a yelp and a scream. "AHHH! I'M SORRY! PLEASE! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"

Startled, the two looked back to the wrestling girls only to find that Weiss was madly scrambling away from a cringing Yang who was clutching at her head. Ruby just lay awkwardly at Yang's feet, a thigh in her loosing grip.

Shirou rushed up to them and helped Weiss up. "What happened?" Yang slowly got up, her gazing resting on her feet. Nobody said anything. "What happened?" Shirou asked again, trying to get them to at least look at him.

It was Yang who answered him. "We were just rough housing when Weiss accidentally pulled my hair," she admitted. She shrugged slightly as if to say 'no big deal.' However, now that she was looking at him, he could see her eyes finish reverting back to their normal violet color.

"It was an accident, Yang," Weiss murmured. Part of her profile was blocked by Shirou, her gaze averted in mortification and shame. "I... I just know how sensitive you are about your hair."

That statement stung like nothing else. Yang flinched away in her own bout of shame. A tough silence hung in the air like a thick fog in a humid swamp, unwanted and unpleasant with nobody wanting to be there. Still, she had to try to navigate her way through this.

"It's no big deal. I'm starting to realize that my hair doesn't bother me," Yang lied, putting on a smile to try and assuage her terrified teammate.

"I'm proud of you Yang," Ruby chirped. "Does this mean that you're not gonna hog the bathroom for, like, twenty minutes every morning from now on?"

"R-Ruby, there's a guy right here," Yang sputtered, embarrassed with one of her morning rituals being revealed to an almost complete stranger.

Shirou scratched the back of his head and feigned interest in something outside the window. It was a tactic he'd used often when Fuji-nee said something that had flustered Sakura, and it usually seemed to work. It was the idea that if he pretended nothing was wrong, it'd become a reality.

Blake picked up on what Ruby was doing and joined her in pushing Yang's buttons. Getting the blonde get all worked up about her beauty secrets being publicly revealed was doing a great job in diffusing the tension between her and Weiss. Soon enough, the heiress was giggling and poking fun at her as well. Ruby's grin grew as her team devolved into fits of laughter.

* * *

He had snuck out again after his team had fallen asleep. He'd been doing it more and more often lately, putting in tons of effort if only to increase his strength by any modicum. Jaune crept down the halls of Beacon Academy towards the training hall, careful of any late night staff who might be wandering the halls. God help him if he got caught; may He have mercy if it was by Goodwitch.

The door was closed like usual, but what lay inside was anything but what he expected. Instead of the almost reverent quiet in the dead of the night, there was the sounds of ferocious battle going on, echo of metal against metal piercing the air. Jaune carefully snuck inside, closing the door behind him. His breath caught in his throat as he realized what he was watching. It was him.

Shirou ducked and weaved underneath those scything claws. A single stroke meant the end of the exercise for him. The machine would recalibrate and realize that, no, he did not have aura and immediately terminate the program. So he continued to dodge the heavy, punishing strikes.

Jaune watched as the Beowolves quickly fell to his sword strikes, only to shuffle off to the side and reform, simulating an endless pack that was advancing on him without stopping. The Ursa behind him reared back with its arm pulled back for a heavy blow, but the redhead pivoted in place and brought his swords to bear. The Ursa's mechanical paw glanced off the impromptu shields, but not without shattering them with its great force.

Shirou grimaced. He had allowed himself to lose the image for a brief moment there and his handiwork had broken as a result. Just another thing for him to work on. Archer had never had this much difficulty keeping the shape of a weapon in focus. He sprang back away from the robots to get some breathing room and pulled a weapon to the forefront of his mind. The trigger was pulled and a nameless long sword from fourteenth century Scotland flashed into existence in his hands.

Sparks flew as the rough iron grated against smooth steel. Shirou parried the Beowolf that had been creeping up from behind and ducked underneath its follow up swing. Its maw slipped through his guard and opened wide to try and rip out his throat. He flinched and staggered backwards, letting go of his blade.

Jaune watched crouched from his hiding spot in fascination as the sword shattered into flakes of light. That same light appeared moments later in Shirou's hands and transformed into a massive, single-edged sword that reminded him a lot of the weapon of that huge second year on Team CFVY. It was the same size and general shape, but the details on it were far too different. He watched the sword flash and glint in the fluorescent lighting of the training hall, the clashes between the redhead and the simulated hoard constantly ringing.

Shirou was starting to reach his limits. The training simulation had been already been running for fifteen minutes, and he had been forced to keep pushing himself as hard as he could from the very start. The massive sword in his grip cracked as he used the flat of the blade to shield himself from two flanking Beowolves, so he let it be unmade and prepared a blade in his mind for the twenty third time that night.

However, his exhaustion was finally starting to take its toll, and the he knew the rapier would not be ready in time. A single claw flowed through his skin, barely parting it deep enough for blood to spill out in drops. But it was enough. The computer registered the hit and the buzzer shrieked in warning. The room had recognized that it had been tricked and that Shirou actually had no aura. Shirou frowned in annoyance as the exercise shut down. It was getting rather irksome to have to reset the computer constantly with the override command Miss Goodwitch had given him to trick the computer into thinking he had aura. But one other thought niggled at him as he mentally reviewed his performance.

Archer would have done better. He sighed at the comparison and ran his hand through his hair, sweat catching onto his skin to glisten in the training hall's light. He knew that he would never match the strength of a heroic spirit, even a fake one like the Counter Guardian EMIYA. Nevertheless, he continued training, even if he knew he would never reach that level. He'd already made headway. Since coming to Beacon, he'd already made headway in his combat skills and rapid improvement in the quality of his projection.

Shirou watched as the cut on his arm slowly healed up, the blood slowly trickling out of his wound rapidly tapering off. He turned around and walked towards the controls for the room as he beheld his arm. His eyebrows knitted together in thought.

Why was he healing so quickly?

And then auburn eyes met blue. The sight of a student huddled down on the floor startled him. It was the boy from all those nights ago, the one with that grand sword. Shirou remembered Jaune's rather lackluster performance from that morning. Even if he was in the middle of training, how could he have allowed himself to miss somebody as awkward as Jaune coming in? He internally chided himself as he made a note to keep up his awareness in the future.

"Hi," Jaune meekly greeted.

"Hello." The two of them could swear that a pin had been dropped somewhere. "What are you doing behind my cart?" Shirou asked, sweat pouring off his brow as he caught his breath.

Jaune looked at him with a blank look before realizing that he was indeed hiding crouched behind the cart that Shirou pushed around every day. "Uhhh, stretching my glutes?" he answered when he realized that Shirou was actually waiting for an answer.

"Stretching your glutes?" Shirou asked disbelievingly.

"Stretchin' my glutes!" Jaune crowed and leaned out on one leg as far as he possibly could, deciding to just run with his ridiculous excuse. Not like he could get into anymore trouble what with being out so late and obviously planning to use the training hall by himself. He nervously hummed himself as he bounced slightly on the balls of his feet before switching to the other leg, desperately hoping that Shirou would believe it if he kept at it.

Shirou removed the palm from his face. He walked over to the bench near the control panel behind Jaune and sat down, deciding to take a slight break. He watched for a few more moments as the blonde embarrassed himself before he decided to say anything. "You can relax. I'm not going to tell anybody about you being here. After all, I'm not supposed to be here either," Shirou smiled disarmingly.

Jaune sighed loudly in relief and fell out of his crouch onto his back. He tilted his head backwards to smile back at the janitor. "Thanks. I'd really rather not to have detention with Miss Goodwitch if I can help it."

"Why does everybody keeping talking about Miss Goodwitch like that?" Shirou wondered. As far as he's seen, she was just a well meaning if stern woman. She had even gone so far as to help him with some minor tasks back when he was still having some difficulty learning how to read a new language.

Jaune shuddered. He had already served detention with 'Wicked Witch' eleven times this year, and he had no desire to make it an even dozen. He still remembered the last detention he had.

"So much marinara sauce," Jaune shuddered.

Shirou shrugged, letting the matter drop. He turned his focus inwards into himself, musing on what swords he should focus on practicing with next. Knowing how each blade was used was one thing, but getting some hands-on practice was another entirely. While he was distracted, the bench seat next to him creaked as the huntsman-to-be sat down next to him.

Jaune looked morose as he sat with his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry," he apologized. He raised his head from where it hung so that he could look the dude in the eyes. Dad always told him to look the person he's talking to in the eyes when he's apologizing. "We went too far and somebody could have really gotten hurt. I know it was Ruby and the others who started the whole thing, but we should have looked into it. Everything just moved so quickly after we agreed to help. I mean, one moment we're in the dorms, then we're in the forest setting up a huge log with rocks the next."

"That was you?"

Jaune puffed his chest out a little. "Well, it was me and Nora together. I wanted to just to do the log, but Nora's a bit..." Jaune paused as he tried to find a way to nicely describe Nora's obsession with overkill. "Obsessed with overkill." At least, he reasoned to himself, he tried.

Shirou nodded. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Regardless, I accept your apology." There was a pleasant lull in conversation, the two of them content to rest and listen to the hum of the monitor.

"So I just gotta know. How'd you do that thing with the swords? Is your semblance like weapons or matter creation or something like that? I wonder what kind of person you'd have to be to have something like matter creation. Maybe think you're a god? Or do you use dust to store 'em in your clothes? Cause it seems like a really useful thing to have up your sleeve." He had been spending way too much time with Yang lately if he was making puns like those.

Despite Jaune's questions, Shirou was faintly amused. It reminded him some of when he started learning magecraft from Kiritsugu. "You like to ask a lot of questions. If you slowed down a little, maybe I could answer a few of them."

"Sorry. When I get excited or nervous, I tend to ramble a little. My friends have a few bad habits and I guess I picked that one up," Jaune explained, a faint dusting of red staining his cheeks. "Anyway, what is your semblance?"

Shirou hesitated for a moment. He and Ozpin had already agreed about what to say if this kind of question came up. "My semblance is sword," Shirou said. Odds were that if he had a semblance, it would almost certainly be his Origin anyway.

"Sword, huh? I guess I can see it." Jaune leaned back onto the palms of his hands, and stretched his arms out.

"Just promise me you won't tell anybody about it. Please?" Shirou pleaded. "It's important that nobody discover what I can do. A lot of effort has gone into protecting that secret."

"I promise, I promise. Not like the end of the world if I say anything though, right?" Jaune laughed.

Instead of laughing with him like he expected, Shirou nodded. It was obvious to him that the blonde wasn't taking the situation as seriously as he needed to. "It may not end the world, but it could definitely place several safeguards for Vale in jeopardy."

"R-Right, I'll definitely keep my mouth shut about it," Jaune promised more earnestly. It all seemed surreal that all this importance was being placed onto this secret, but the way that the headmaster and this new kid his own age who appeared from out of nowhere were acting, it must have some merit. It did feel kind of silly though. After all, there was no way that Shirou could have as huge an impact as they seemed to think.

Right?

Jaune got up off the bench and wrenched his back, feeling the joints in his spine crack as he got ready for his training. He asked, "You mind if I go next?" only for Shirou to wave for him to go ahead, saying that he needed a breather. He punched a few commands into the console, noticing as he replaced Shirou's picture with his own that his new friend's aura was in the black. He brushed the thought off, thinking that it was just because Shirou exhausted all his aura without him noticing, and walked into the arena proper.

Three metal Beowolves and a silvery Ursa crept from out of the shadowy recesses of the walls. The flaxen-haired knight unsheathed his sword and raised his shield against the faux beasts. Immediately, he found himself having to push a Beowolf off his shield while the others tried to circle around him for a flank.

Shirou watched as Jaune ran through the one-man exercise and remembered the first time he had seen the boy do it. He definitely seemed to be doing much better than he was back then if the monitor's display was any indication. Shirou watched intently, his gaze focused as the huntsman-in-training struggled against his opponents.

Tinny snarls echoed from the other side of his shield as he tried his best to keep the Grimm at bay. Why was everything such a struggle for him? While he tucked and rolled away from one of the beasts lunging at him, he heard Shirou's calm voice call out from the side.

"Keep your sword arm up."

He raised the pommel of his sword to roughly his shoulder height, desperately swinging Crocea Mors to just hit something, anything at all. He connected, the cold steel of the sword slicing into the haunches of one of the wolf-like robots. Again, Shirou's voice called out again.

"Don't swing wildly. Your attacks should be decisive."

His attention sharpened and he started watching the robots more closely. With one of the robots defeated, it was much easier to take his time and start looking for picks on the Grimm. He kept the last two Beowolves from circling around him again before he hamstrung one of them to cripple it before he took its head off. The last one fell in a matter of seconds after that, having none of its pack to help split attention away from it.

Jaune felt like celebrating before he noticed a wild blow swinging heavily into him. He barely had enough time to raise his shield before he was sent staggering back, almost falling prone and vulnerable to the remaining Ursa. It let loose a roar before it resumed lumbering towards him, its paw cocking back behind its head for another devastating attack.

"Lean into your left leg more when you block."

The Ursa let loose a hammer like blow, but Jaune blocked with his shield and aura, using his left leg as more of a support than he had before. The blow that would have knocked him off his feet before only managed to make him stumble. The Ursa, off balance from the unexpected resistance, back pedaled as it tried to regain its footing. Jaune saw his opportunity and leapt up, slashing at the neck of the robot, cleaving through metal casing easily. The already self-repairing metal corpse slumped to the ground as the other robots started slinking back to the chambers in the walls that held them.

Heavy breathing. The buzzer blared and a small ping sounded. A victory chime. A moment of stunned disbelief.

And then that silence was broken by an excited shout. "I did it! That's the first time I've ever managed to beat that challenge! I did it!" Jaune cheered. He turned to Shirou, who was standing and clapping for the ecstatic Jaune, and ran over to sling an arm over his shoulder in celebration. He pumped an arm into the arm, giving a final holler before he clasped the one janitor's hands in both of his.

"And it's all thanks to you!" he claimed, eyes shining brilliantly.

"I'm sure you would have figured it out on your own," Shirou deflected.

Jaune wildly shook his head. "I've been in a slump for weeks. Before you started giving me advice, I hadn't made any progress in weeks. Please!" Jaune got on his hands and knees before the Shirou. "Train me!" Jaune had some pride as both a guy and an Arc, but he wasn't below begging when push came to shove. Family techniques were on the line, held by somebody right in front of him, and the guy was saying no deal.

Shirou blinked in shock before he shuffled back away from the prostrate student. He waved his hand in protest, saying "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'm not really that great a teacher. I'm sure you'd be better off learning from somebody else."

Jaune thought of Pyrrha and offered her a quick silent apology, but he kept pressing on. " There's no way that anybody could have known about how my family used to fight. That means you know my family's techniques somehow, right?" His hope soared when Shirou hesitantly nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the whole scenario. "That means you're the only one around who can teach me how to use Crocea Mors to its fullest! Please! I'm begging you! I'll do anything you want!"

Shirou took a half-step backwards away from the anxious blonde. He felt bad about leaving the guy in the lurch, but he was going to be running ragged himself for the next several days just trying to catch up from all the excitement of the dance and his weekend."Well, you see, the thing of it is-" Jaune latched onto his legs, keeping him backing away anymore.

"You want me to pay you? I'll give you all the lien I have! I'm a dedicated student and I pick stuff up quickly when I get the basics down! Please, I'm desperate!" The energy seemed to drain out of Jaune as he sat back onto his knees as Shirou managed to break the grip he had on his legs. He, mostly to himself, whispered, "I just want to be better for my team. I don't want to let them down."

Shirou sighed. He rubbed the back of his head as he tried to figure out what to say. Finding the words as he went, he explained his situation. "I just don't have the time. I'm sorry. Between keeping up my actual duties as a janitor here and my own training, plus whatever else the headmaster or any of the teachers ask of me, I just don't have any room in my schedule."

Jaune capitalized quickly. "Well, what if I helped you? I don't have classes on Saturday. If I spend half my day helping you, would you be willing to put in some time with me? I'll do anything. Janitor stuff, covert ops, you name it, I'll do it."

Shirou was taken aback slightly by Jaune's exuberance, but he supposed that's what made him so likeable. "Geez, when you put it like that, I guess I can't really say no. Alright. But I have to warn you, I'm not the best teacher on either world and I'll be teaching you the way I learned swordsmanship, so be prepared," Shirou warned.

"It's a deal," Jaune eagerly agreed. The two of them shook hands on their pact. Just like that, Jaune signed himself up for training with Shirou.

He was completely unaware of the hell he was in for.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**So... Been a long time, huh? What have I been up to? Fourth year of college and writing multiple papers and essays. My job was interesting and a pleasure to work at, but I have long since resigned so I can focus more on school... which just ended up as me playing a ton of video games.**

**I have been brainstorming new story concepts and things. There's a couple interesting ones on my profile as well as some new somewhat relevant information on me keeping in contact with you guys and becoming more dedicated to my writing on here near bottom.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


	8. Poleportculis

**Fate/Recondite nor its author have any officially recognized affiliation with either Rooster Teeth, LLC. or Type-Moon, both of whom respectively own RWBY and Fate/Stay Night. I do not profit off of this story.**

* * *

Shirou closed the door to the custodian's closet locked it and behind him. Nodding with the satisfaction at a good day's work, he turned to the four girls waiting to be dismissed behind him. "Alright, good job today, guys."

Ruby gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up. "Mission accomplished then! When are we meeting next, Shirou?"

"Well, I was thinking about meeting up tomorrow. I have some business in Vale and if you'd like, we can assign one of the detentions for then. If you'd like, we could make a whole day of it," Shirou suggested.

"Wouldn't that defeat the point of having us be in detention?" Blake asked, only to grunt as an elbow found its way into her side. She glared at the rest of her team to see who did it, but none of them seemed to react to her pain.

"Well, a detention is supposed to teach a lesson through way of punishment, isn't it? I'm not exactly sure you're all taking something away from scratching my linoleum floors." Ruby snickered lightly as Weiss flushed at the indirect jab towards her.

"Well, what would we be learning in Vale that we couldn't learn here? I'd rather not just waste the day doing nothing," Blake countered, hissing when another elbow dug into her hip. She turned to glower at whoever did it, but still nobody seemed guilty.

The twilight sun slowly gave way to the shattered moon as night finally descended onto Remnant. The hall's fluorescent lights flickered to life above them, humming a pleasant tune all their own. Shirou made a mental note that one of the lights wasn't working right and resolved to fix it the day after they got back from Vale. It was probably something failing to connect properly. "Well, some of my business involves walking around and noting weaknesses in Vale's security. Maybe you guys could learn something from that."

Weiss hummed in thought, her voice in pleasant dissonance with the chorus of lights above her. "Like tactics and how to reinforce defensible locations. Yes, that is definitely something that could be of aid in the future."

Ruby whooped cheerfully. She zipped around in a flurry of roses to behind his back. She reached up to throw one arm around his shoulder and stretched the other out in front of her, pulling him close as if to show off an imaginary view of the city. "Oh, it's gonna be a great day tomorrow!" She paused for a moment, before she inched her face closer to his. "Oh yeah, that's right. Your files say that you're not from Vale, right? That means we get to give you a tour and show you all the best parts of the city! Oh, it's gonna be so much fun!" Ruby squealed.

Shirou blinked and staggered back slightly in shock as Yang pulled her little sister off him, scolding her about personal space. He'd known how fast Ruby could be, but to casually move as swiftly as she had reminded him some of the blue-clad warrior from his homeland. Come to think of it, Lancer had also seemed pretty carefree. Maybe somehow she was a distant relative of his.

He frowned before sighing and shaking his head. The longer he was in this world, the more dismal his chances of going home seemed. "Well, I got a bit of a tour last weekend, but I'm sure you already knew that." Four sets of cheeks burned slightly at the reminder. "However, that was just limited to the commercial district and with somebody who wasn't combat trained. I'm sure you girls can give me better insight than that person could."

"Alright. What time are we meeting up then?" Yang asked.

Shirou considered his daily schedule for a moment before he gave his answer. "Let's meet at the airships by six. We'll fly into the city proper from there."

"Are you sure?" Blake asked.

"I know the time is a little unusual, but I'm usually at my most active then," Shirou explained.

"Well, maybe we could meet a little earlier than that," Yang suggested. "That way we have a little more free time for ourselves and give you a tour of the city."

Shirou nodded. It seemed like they really wanted to give him that tour. "Alright, I'll pack a meal for us then."

"That's really not necessary, Shirou," Blake tried to refuse, except three sets of elbows found their way into her sides. She looked from side to side angrily before she got the point and just accepted Shirou's kindness. "But if you're sure, then I suppose it'd be rude of us to refuse it."

"Alright, then I'll see you guys at five thirty tomorrow?" Shirou confirmed, receiving several nods. The schedule planned out for the next day, Shirou bade Team RWBY a good night and started getting ready for it himself. It had been sometime since he'd been able to make a meal for other people.

* * *

Smoldering eyes watched the White Fang soldiers below work tirelessly into the night. The woman they belonged to, a dark creature masquerading as human, turned away from the edge of the catwalk above the tracks to regard the figure in green.

"How long until everything is ready?"

"Production is on schedule, ma'am. Everything should be ready by morning," Emerald reported. Tomorrow would mark the start of a whole new world.

A salacious smirk found its place on that gorgeous mask. "Good," Cinder purred. She turned back to the faunus below. "Then we'll proceed as planned."

"Yes, ma'm." The shouts and machinery in the cavern seemed to echo in her soul. It reminded her of those market streets so long ago where she fought and stole for her life. With Cinder's new world, she and the others like her would never have to go back to that again.

"Any word on Winter, Summer, or Spring?"

"Our contacts in the other kingdoms have yet to report anything on the other maidens."

"I see. And Fall's condition?"

She remembered that girl, the acrid smell of burned flesh filling the air, the screams as her aura, her soul, was cleaved in half. However, they weren't what haunted her at night sometimes. No, that honor would belong to those eyes, screwed shut in agony before they suddenly snapped open. "Her whereabouts are unknown for certain."

"She's definitely in Vale. I can feel her. Tell our contacts to focus on their search there."

"Got it," Emerald quipped easily.

"Oh, and Emerald? I have a new assignment for you." That sultry warm tone coiled around her like a dragon curling up to protect its hoard, a certain greedy and protective pride emanating from it. It was like a torch in the dark. It was dangerous. It was what drew her to her boss and kept her there. After all, the torch shed a light and drove off the darkness, the hunger.

"Ma'am?"

"During tomorrow's excitement, you're to take care of the problem with Mercury," it drawled.

"Right. I'll have him back here bef-"

"No."

What? But she couldn't just leave Mercury there. He may have driven her crazy with all his incessant flirting and arrogance, but he didn't deserve to be kept in the general's not-so-kind mercies.

"Mercury is compromised. He can no longer be trusted."

Emerald had no answer to that.

"You're to take care of the problem with Mercury," Cinder repeated. It was not a request, and Emerald knew what would result if she refused.

She hesitated for a moment before she answered. "Yes, ma'am. I'll take care of the problem."

That night as she dreamed, she saw Fall's red eyes that pierced right through her. She felt as though she were being judged.

Judged, and found wanting.

* * *

It was warm and comfortable. Her bed had attained that perfect level of heat and coziness that seemed to envelop her head in inescapable cotton. Zwei was snuggling into the crook formed from the back of her knees and only added to the serendipity that was her bed. The soft breathing of her friends was like the gentle waves of the ocean splashing against the shore.

And then the door rattled loudly as somebody knocked on it.

Ruby groaned with her teammates. She screwed her eyes shut to try and block out the noise, but it seemed Zwei was ready for the day. The little scamp was already jumping all around on her bed, eager to greet whoever was at the door.

"Hmm, Zwei, stop it," Ruby moaned. She lifted her pillow and buried her head underneath it, but whoever was mean enough to wake her up in the first place knocked again.

It was six thirty in the freaking morning! They didn't even have class that day because everybody had already left on their missions yesterday. Yang was ready to knock out the jerk at their door and then immediately go back to bed. Eyes tinged with red, she climbed out of bed as Blake grumbled, "It's a day off. Who's crazy enough to wake up this early on a day off?" With everybody else off on their missions, all their classes were cancelled until enough students came back.

"I don't know, but, whoever it is, I'm going to feed them my fist," the blonde growled. Waking up early when she didn't need to was annoying, but what was really upsetting her was the fact that she and the rest of her team already missed out on the first mission assignment. It was supposed to be a valuable learning experience for all the first years as they worked with a professional huntsman, and Team RWBY was missing out on it for detention. The only consolation she and her teammates had was that they were going to be in Vale later tonight for a bit of fun on the town instead of cleaning all day.

The knocking stopped before she could open the door. She could hear faint muttering, but she couldn't place who the voice belonged through her drowsiness. The hinges groaned as she furiously threw open the door, surprising Shirou who was wearing casual clothing and a large backpack. The sight of him in his day clothes instead of his usual uniform confused her, giving him enough time to compose himself.

"Where have you all been? I've been waiting at the Bullhead for almost an hour," Shirou admonished.

"I thought we were meeting up at five thir-" Yang's mind ground to a halt as she realized something."Oh, you meant in the morning, didn't you?" She groaned when he nodded. Neither she or Ruby could ever be described as a morning person, Weiss was near impossible to wake up, and she suspected that Blake got more from her faunus ancestry if all the cat naps she took was any indication.

Shirou nodded. "It'd be hard to do any real work while the sun is setting. The more light we have, the easier my job is." Something caught his eye behind Yang, causing him to falter. "Were you all sleeping until just now?" He looked from the sight of Blake stretching out of bed in her pajamas back to Yang. Idly, he noticed that she was also wearing what looked like pajamas, an orange tank top and shorts.

Yang rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, it's super early for us. Can you give us like twenty minutes to get up and ready?" she asked.

"Sure. I'll be at the Bullhead."

Yang nodded in agreement and closed the door. She checked the time on her scroll: six twenty-eight in the morning. The blonde looked at her teammates and groaned again. Getting everybody up and ready in fifteen minutes would be almost impossible, a truly Herculean task.

"Man, detention sucks."

* * *

"He's a sadist. He has to be. There's no other possible explanation for why he'd make us get up this early to go to town," Yang complained as she, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss walked in the early morning light towards the docking area. Yang was the only one wide awake while the others just looked miserable, lethargy still addling their brains some.

Blake yawned, covering her mouth out of etiquette. "Well, he does seem passionate about his job, and it does make sense to get started as early as possible. After all, Vale is a pretty big kingdom and we did promise to take him on a tour around it all," the faunus reasoned.

It didn't help to appease Yang however. "But at five thirty in the morning? Nobody normal gets up that early!"

"Yang, complaining will accomplish nothing. Besides, I almost guarantee you that if we understood that he meant the morning, you'd be far less upset about this," Weiss scolded. She did understand where Yang was coming from. She loved her sleep, and hearing that she was late to a detention with a faculty member meant that she was very upset herself. Hearing Yang constantly gripe about this god-forsaken hour wasn't exactly putting her in a good mood.

Ruby yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes with her sleeves. "Nope. She'd just be louder. Yang's just groggy cause she'd didn't wake up on time." She smiled innocently at Yang's betrayed look and giggled with the Blake and Yang. Usually, she was at her sister's mercy when it came to jokes, so giving a little ribbing back always felt satisfying. Ruby knew Yang would pay her back for it later, so she'd enjoy it while she could.

They turned the corner to the airfield, finding a familiar mop of red hair waiting on one of the ramps to the Bullhead talking to one of the pilots. "Well, I'll take a look at it for you tomorrow nonetheless. I don't know much about aeronautic equipment, but I am willing to give it a try." The pilot thanked him and walked back up the ramp to get ready for takeoff. Shirou waved goodbye and turned to look back towards the school to resume waiting, only to find four familiar faces. "Ah, there you guys are. Are you all ready?" Shirou asked.

"Indeed. We're very sorry to keep you waiting, Shirou! We're honestly not trying to be difficult," Weiss apologized. Blake and Ruby nodded in agreement and meekly smiled. Yang just stood off to the side and tried not to be noticed as she remembered that starless night with Blake. She still hadn't apologized to Shirou yet.

Shirou nodded, losing himself in memory for a second. He remembered all the times that Shinji would come late to homeroom duties in the morning. At least they were apologetic about it unlike Shinji. He would just scoff and gripe about having to come in the first place after sitting in the corner to 'supervise' his work. "Apology accepted. Are you guys ready to head into Vale proper?"

The girls cheered and boarded with their supervisor for the day. They took their seats, stowing their bags and weapons underneath them for more space. They could feel the airship lurch slightly as it took off. A swift mid-air reversal and Team RWBY and Shirou were in the air and headed for an exciting day.

Through the window, Shirou could see the sun rising. It was a majestic sight that nearly took Shirou's breath away. The sky was alight with a myriad of colors with shades of orange, pink, and blue coating it. The yellow-orange sun was partially hidden behind a gathering of clouds that mirrored the scene above them, all framed by a mountain range that juxtaposed those soft colors with jagged and harsh edges. It was so beautiful.

And yet he couldn't shake off that immutable feeling of horror.

"Wow," Ruby breathed out as she leaned over his seat to see what he was looking at. "It's so pretty." Shirou leaned back to make room for her. She smiled brightly at him in thanks before looking back out.

"Ruby, get your butt out of my face!" Weiss yelled. In her curiosity, Ruby was inadvertently putting her rear in the heiress' face.

"Sorry, Weiss!" Ruby sat back down in her seat, cheekily laughing at the heiress' face. "Hey, Shirou?"

"Hmmm?" He was still staring out the window.

"You okay?"

He turned back to Ruby, surprised by her question. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's just," Ruby paused, trying to find the right words. "You've got this really intense look on your face, like you're trying to find the meaning of life or something and it's right outside the window."

Slightly embarrassed, Shirou blinked, then looked away back outside. "Sorry. I'm fine. I was just comparing the sunrises here in Vale to the ones back home," he explained.

"You see a lot of sunrises then?" Blake teased lightly. Despite all their detentions with him, they still didn't know too much about the quiet redhead. It was understandable given his situation as an undercover agent for the headmaster, but they were dying to know more about their new friend. Even Blake had shared small stories from her past, but trying to learn anything personal about him was a lot like pulling teeth from a Nevermore.

He nodded. "I saw one almost every morning. Usually, I'll have been active for a couple hours by this time. My father told me a long time ago that it was a good routine to get into, advice that I still agree with," he explained. It was a practice that he had picked up from his father, but there was more to the story than that. If one wanted a decent breakfast in the Emiya household, they had better be prepared to make it themselves. Unfortunately, neither Kiritsugu or Fuji-nee were good at cooking anything, so he opted to just get up earlier and do it for them so they wouldn't starve. It had become habitual by the time his father died and Taiga started coming over before school more often to check up on him, so he never stopped.

Yang blanched. "You get up this early every day?"

Shirou shook his head at the question. "No, I accidentally slept in a little myself this morning. Usually I wake up at five." The whole team, the heavy sleepers that they were, cringed at the thought of waking up that early every day. Internally, they all had the same thought. Yang was wrong. Shirou wasn't a sadist, but a masochist.

Brushing the unpleasant thought away, Ruby asked, "So? What do you think? Whose do you like more?"

The Bullhead touched down and extended its ramp, letting the passengers off. Shirou sighed, "I prefer my home's. I miss them very much." He grabbed the backpack and settled it onto his back, the contents shifting some and pressing into his back.

"'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' I'm sure you can go back soon and watch the sunrise again," Blake tried to reassure him.

Shirou absently nodded, saying nothing in response.

* * *

The three of them met in the headmaster of Beacon's office, the sun burning brightly in the morning sky. The guardians of the Maidens, sans three others, had gathered to discuss future events.

"Headmaster, I know that you think Mister Emiya is a capable individual, and I have no doubts that given his demonstration with Teams RWBY and JNPR he is capable of holding himself at a higher level. However, I sincerely doubt it is to the level you expect of him. He is just a child, not even older than a second year," Glynda Goodwitch debated. She was somewhat anxious. They still hadn't heard from Qrow in ages and one team from Beacon had failed to check in last night as per protocol. She hoped Bartholomew and his team were alright.

"Trust me, Glynda. This plan, if anything, underutilizes Shirou's full potential. In fact, I'm hoping to avoid any situation that ever requires such," Ozpin explained. "That man's full strength can be terrifying when he is your enemy."

"And what is it for his allies?" the general asked.

"He wields a symbol for hope. And one for victory. And one for peace. Frankly, James, he wields an endless number of symbols. I am very thankful that his ambition is a just one." He could see the confusion etched onto his friends' faces. "In any event, even if he isn't needed on the battlefield, he remains invaluable regarding Amber's situation.

"After all, who better to understand the magic of a Maiden than a magus?"

* * *

The sun had reached its peak as the clock struck noon. Ruby and her team had been showing Shirou the walls that surrounded Vale. They showed him the various residential districts, highlighting the important public buildings like emergency shelters and government buildings. Afterwards, they toured the business district, and Team RWBY pointed out the major thoroughfares and busiest blocks. All the while, Shirou took notes down in his little black notebook, pointing out any flaws in security that he saw and how they could be overcome by different enemy forces as he did so. It was when they were wandering through the kingdom's main park when a series of terrifying growls reached their ears.

Weiss was instantly on guard, drawing Myrtenaster from her side. "Are we under attack?"

"Only if you count hunger as an enemy," Yang replied, clutching her rumbling stomach.

"I'm so hungry," Ruby cried, doubled over with her arms folded over her tummy. Weiss was about to rebuke her for her childish behavior when her own stomach betrayed her and growled, bringing a blush to her face.

At Shirou's concerned look, Blake explained. "We skipped breakfast because we were late."

"That's not good. Well," Shirou looked around and found a picnic table nearby that overlooked a pretty view of the park. "Here seems as good a place as any to stop for lunch."

"I'll go and grab us a snack. My treat," Weiss offered until Shirou stopped her as he hefted his pack. Dry and muffled rustling could be heard from the bag as he set the backpack next to one of the benches.

"There's no need. I packed us a lunch, remember?" Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Weiss sat down as Shirou opened his backpack, but only Weiss was calm one of her team. They were all hungry, but the other three were all apprehensive about eating Shirou's food. Yang and Ruby remembered their dad and uncle's first attempts at cooking, and Blake remembered what Adam liked to call 'passable'. All three of them shuddered slightly.

Yang leaned over to her sister so that Shirou couldn't overhear her. Yang whispered into her ear, "Do you have any antacid handy?" Ruby nodded. One never knew when Uncle Qrow or Dad might show up for a surprise visit after all. Their conversation didn't escape Blake's keen hearing. Ruby couldn't ignore her pleading eyes and nodded towards her as well. They would make it through this meal alive or go down trying.

Meanwhile, Weiss was helping Shirou with setting out throw-away plates and utensils as he pulled out a large plain-looking box. The other three held their breath as Shirou pulled off its top, half-expecting to see some eldritch abomination to pop out and attack them. To their shock, he pulled out what looked like an ordinary platter of sandwiches. Though the girls tried to be subtle, their reactions did not go at all unnoticed.

"I have no idea why you're all being so rude," Weiss commented as she reached for the first sandwich. "Shirou went to all the trouble of making this delicious-looking spread and your all being very disrespectful." She took a bite of the sandwich, only to pause as she looked at the sandwich in mild wonder. Her teammates looked on in apprehension as she took another solid bite of her food.

Blake, emboldened by Weiss' reaction, was the next to grab a sandwich and eat. She let the flavor settle in before she started eating more voraciously. She looked at the sisters and nodded. This was way better than Adam's smoked salmon sandwich. For one, it wasn't charcoal and didn't make her gag on the taste.

Ruby and Yang shared a brief look, both trying to get the other to taste test for them. Both were stubborn, and the silent argument lasted a few moments until Yang mouthed the word 'groggy' unseen by the others. Ruby saw her chance to avoid future embarrassment and grabbed a sandwich. However, she froze the moment she bit in, letting loose a low keening sound.

"You okay, Ruby? I know it was made by a guy," Yang took an experimental bite of a sandwich of her own. "But it can't taste tha-" She paused as the flavor hit her tongue. There weren't any stars exploding in her mouth, but this was actually good. Scratch that, this was better than anything she'd had in the cafeteria since she came to Beacon! Oh, that's why Ruby froze. She could taste the strawberries.

"Hmm, this is good!" Ruby moaned as she wolfed down the rest of her sandwich. She reached for another as Blake and Yang finished up their own.

"I must admit, this tastes excellent," Weiss complimented as she daintily bit into her meal. Shirou preened slightly at the praise as he thanked her for the kind words. Together, the five of them enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere of a beautiful day with good food and great friends.

Ruby took the opportunity to ask their new friend about himself. "So Shirou, tell us about yourself. Where do you come from? What's your favorite color? What's your favorite type of weapon sharpener?" Whereas Yang didn't like awkward silences, Ruby hated indirectness. If one wanted to know about something like why a Beowolf has such big teeth, why not just ask about it?

Shirou took his time swallowing his mouthful as he pondered on what he could say. "Well, I come from a place called Fuyuki. I had lived there all my life until recently."

"What made you decide to move?" Weiss asked. Perhaps better career opportunities elsewhere? Beacon was certainly a prestigious place of employment.

Shirou sighed slightly at the question. "It wasn't so much as I decided to as I had no choice. If I could have stayed, I would have done so." He watched as Ruby finished off her seconds and reached for thirds. He always felt a bit of pleasure seeing other people enjoy his cooking.

Blake grabbed another sandwich herself. "Why did you have to leave then?"

"I can't answer that question. I'm sorry."

Yang reached for her fourth sandwich. "That sucks. Well, can you tell us about Fuyuki then? The sunrises can't be the only good thing about it, right?" Yang teased. Despite her situation with Shirou, she felt more comfortable the more time she spent around him. Maybe she'd be able to apologize soon.

Shirou thought for a moment. "Well, my town was decently sized. It had a river that split the town into two sections, Miyama and Shinto. I lived in Miyama which was more traditional, but I worked in Shinto which was more modern."

"Sounds interesting. What did you like most about it?" Blake asked as she reached for another. Even if she hadn't missed breakfast, these sandwiches were too good to ignore. She'd have to see if she could get him to make some more of these in the future.

"Well, when I think of home, that thing that first comes to mind would be-" her. "... the sea. The river emptied right out into it, so sometimes I'd walk along the bridge that connected the two districts to watch the sun set. I'd go down to the docks occasionally to pick up some fresh fish for dinner."

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang paused at that to watch Blake carefully. Her ears were twitching slightly in that way they did when somebody mentioned fish for dinner. "You can cook fish?"

Shirou nodded. "Sometimes I'd get cod, sometimes trout, but one of the foods I enjoy working with most was tuna. You can do so many things with tuna, even if it was one of the more expensive items in the market. I love to cook and experiment with food, but lately I haven't had the chance to with everything that's been going on." He missed the wide-eyed stares as he closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. "Honestly, I've gotten a bit rusty."

"You mean... This could have been better? And it could have been tuna?" Blake whispered. She would get him to cook for her. She may not be romantically interested in him, but she loved good fish. By hook or by crook, she would taste that tuna!

This was a man who could cook, clean, and act like a gentleman instead of a blundering buffoon. Weiss immediately leapt at the chance. "Shirou, would you ever be interested in working for the Schnee family?" She liked him, maybe not romantically, but as a friend. He had always only ever been courteous to her, and she still felt like she owed him a lot. "I assure you that my family would pay you a lot more than whatever Beacon does if you work in my home." She was sure that her father wouldn't say no. After all, Shirou was a gentleman and good at whatever he tried from she'd seen.

Shirou thought about it for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I'm working for Beacon at the moment. Plus I'm not sure what I'd be able to offer to your family's company."

"Well, you'd have several duties assigned to you, such as ensuring our facilities were up to high standards, potentially managing and assisting other employees in their duties, ensuring the safety of the family and-"

"Isn't that a servant?" Yang asked past a mouth full of food.

Weiss' cheeks flushed. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Yang! Besides, it's an honor to work for the Schnee family." She noticed the deadpan stare Blake was giving her. "Directly. For the Schnee family directly."

"Ah, sorry, but I don't think I could ever be a servant. I have a dream I have to fulfill, and I wouldn't be able to do that if I was," he explained.

"Ooh, ooh, what's your dream?" Ruby asked excitedly over Weiss' insistence that it wasn't being a servant. Dreams for the future were really cool and anybody who had one got positive marks in her book. Maybe if they were similar, they could help each other. "Is it to be the best chef in Remnant or the strongest person to ever be a huntsman?"

A smile found its way onto his face, the first real smile they'd seen from him yet. It was small and simple, but just looking at it felt right somehow. "I want to be somebody who saves people." He spoke with such clarity and determination that Team RWBY couldn't help but flounder some from it. "I want to be a hero of justice," he repeated for himself as he remembered that smile which had seemed so happy to save somebody.

Weiss found it a little childish and scoffed. She had expected something a little more mature from Shirou. "That's-"

"That's so cool!" Ruby cried out, drawing the attention of a couple passerbys on the park's main path nearby. "That's why I'm training to be a huntress! I grew up with Yang reading me stories of heroes and huntsmen, people who did what was right and defended the weak. I want to be just like them!" He shared her dream! She knew too many people studying at Beacon who wanted to be huntsmen and huntresses for personal reasons, forgetting that the huntsman's duty was to his people first before himself.

Yang finished the last of her fifth sandwich as she watched Ruby gush with him about their mutual dream. Man, she couldn't really blame him for it, but he just kept making her feel worse and worse about that night. She reached for another sandwich to take her mind off of what she was feeling. However, Yang's hand bumped up against Ruby's and Blake's as they all reached for the last sandwich. Their eyes widened for a split second before they narrowed at each other. Muscles tensed and fingers twitched towards their gear.

"DIBS!" "DIBS!" "DIBS!" They all shouted fiercely at once. They all tried to grab the last one for themselves, only to end up wrestling on the ground for it. A dust cloud erupted and obscured them from sight as they brawled.

Shirou looked at Weiss who was palming her face. Could they at least not do this sort of thing in public? Failing that, could they at least not do while she was around where she would be associated with them?

"'Dibs'?" Shirou asked as he looked to the heiress.

Weiss sighed in exasperation. "It's our system for deciding the winner of an argument. Whoever 'calls dibs' first is essentially the first to lay a legitimate claim. When the school year first started, there were a lot of arguments over what belonged to who or who got to use the bathroom first or who got what duties," except for weapon maintenance. That one always went to Ruby. "So in order to keep ourselves from killing each other, Ruby came up with this system. It's been surprisingly effective so far."

Shirou turned his attention back to the fight, the dust cloud having cleared a little. Yang was currently yanking the sides of Ruby's mouth open as wide as they would go while the diminutive leader held Blake in an arm bar. Blake herself was reaching desperately for the piece of food from her position on the ground while also trying to keep Yang from moving her legs so that the blonde couldn't reposition herself closer to the table.

"Well, up until this point, it's been effective. Honestly, they can embarrass me so badly sometimes." The two of them watched as the battle for the food raged on. "You know, if you ever decide otherwise, the job offer will still be open."

"Thank you, Weiss, but it's something I need to do. If something ever happens and I need employment elsewhere, I may take you up on it." Weiss smiled. Emiya Shirou, ever the gentleman. Well, at least they'd hopefully remain friends for a good long time.

* * *

The train barreled down the tracks, explosions going off just as planned as the train cars decoupled and the payload of explosive dust inside each one detonated. Hordes of Grimm roared and chased after the powerful locomotive, the uneasiness and nervous energy from the White Fang members onboard only serving to agitate them even further. However, of all the people exuding all that tension, only one person on the train seemed calm, the smoke of his cigar a reflection of his mood as it lazily wafted throughout the cramped room.

"Hey, put that thing out before you blow us all sky high," the large faunus across the space from him demanded. He uneasily tightened and loosened his grip on his large weaponized chainsaw. He had to put up with this asshole constantly lording his authority over him and all his brothers for weeks now. With things seemingly coming to a head with this plan, his tongue loosened enough to let some of his venomous anger slip through.

Roman Torchwick chuckled low and dark as he kicked his feet onto one of the cases that lined the car. "Listen here, Fido," he addressed the lieutenant while ignoring the deep rumbling that stirred deep from the large faunus. "Do you know what's in these crates?"

"Fire dust. Enough to clear the fifty feet of reinforced rock beneath the kingdom," the lieutenant answered.

Roman laughed, a dry and derisive noise that just only made the only other man in the room bristle. "Do you really think that they'd put enough explosives up here to do that? Force has to go somewhere, Spot, and it doesn't like to go through solid rock when it can just go somewhere else like, say, a cave almost as empty as your head."

The lieutenant stood, his activated weapon almost as loud as his growling. However, he froze at when he felt a dainty hand on his collarbone.

Roman folded his hands as he leaned farther back against the wall, his infuriating smirk deepening slightly. "How about you, Neo? Any guesses from the lovely lady?"

Neo rolled her eyes as she smiled in dark pleasure. Seeing this filthy faunus get shamed like this and be unable to say or do anything to retaliate for all his strength was amusing, even if it did lead to Roman becoming as annoying as was humanly possible. She shrugged. "No idea." Her hand moved to her weapon's handle, a clear signal to the White Fang scum.

"A shame." Her eyes narrowed and he knew to stop playing that game. He didn't fear her like the others did. It wasn't like she could hurt him. However, she could be as annoying as him sometimes, if only in different ways. Roman returned conversation back to the lieutenant. "Don't animals like you have a good sense of smell?"

He shut off his chainsaw and took a deep breath. It helped him calm down as he took in the scents of air around him. "I only smell dust and Grimm." Left unsaid was the disgusting smell of humans like the bastard in front of him and the disgusting cancer branch he was smoking.

"Well, look at that, Neo. We don't have to take him out behind the farm house and put him down," Roman mocked.

"Enough. Just get to the damn point already."

Roman lifted Melodic Cudgel and slammed its curved end into one of the black cases' tops, quickly popping the lid open. He reached inside and pulled out a filled jar.

The cases in the cars behind them were filled with jars of fire dust. When activated, they'd burn through all the air with explosive force, creating a vacuum even as the shockwave of the blast spread out. A lot of huntsmen used that tactic to make traps that would disorientate large hordes of the Grimm they slew. Those cars would attract the Grimm around them and entice the monsters to chase after the train. However, this one wasn't filled with the red dust like the lieutenant had expected, but a blacker-than-black, viscous liquid.

"What... What the hell is that?" he couldn't help but ask. Everything about it seemed malevolent and evil and demented. It was like looking at sin given form.

"This, my dear guard dog, is the essence of Grimm." Roman grinned at the lack of reaction as he set down the jar that hurt him to look at for too long back into the crate. He spun around, gesturing wide to the massive room filled with crates they were in. He tapped his cigar against one of the other boxes next to him. "No chance of explosions."

"How... How did you do this?" This shouldn't be possible. The Grimm literally didn't leave bodies behind. When they died or remained in captivity for too long, they just dispersed into nothingness. Nobody really knew what happened which wasn't really surprising when nobody could study the damn things.

Roman took a deep pull from his cigar before blowing a cloud of smoke. Cigar in his left hand and his cane in the other, he thought about where Cinder might have gotten these himself. "Now isn't that the question of the day?"

* * *

With lunch ended and Shirou having simply cut up the last sandwich into thirds for Ruby, Blake, and Yang to share, the group made their way back into the heart of Vale.

"And this is the commercial district!" Ruby introduced.

Shirou nodded. "Right, I got a tour of this area that night. I remember it being so much bigger than most of the other districts in Vale. Why is that?" he asked.

Blake answered for him. "It's a counter-measure against the Grimm. Grimm are attracted to negative emotions such as fear and anger, but they're also drawn to loneliness and apathy."

The connection clicked in Shirou's brain. "Ah, so by allocating so much space and placing importance in businesses like the entertainment industry and cooking franchises, Vale creates positive emotions such as enjoyment and adoration which drive away the Grimm."

"It's not just Vale that adopted this plan," Weiss commented. "This is a very popular strategy that was adopted by all the major kingdoms. And it works. So far, there have been no reported Grimm attacks of a large scale on any of the kingdoms' borders. You could say that an idol's job is just as important as a huntsman's." It was why they had the tournament and why its arena, Amity Coliseum, traveled all over Remnant instead of staying in one spot. It wasn't just to show off their skills as huntresses, it was primarily an added safeguard against Grimm. The cheer, thrill, and excitement of the tournament helped drive off the beasts.

"That makes sense. It sounds like they're just as important-"

Shirou was cut off as an explosion shook the city and a symphony of screams quickly followed in its wake.

* * *

"Look alive! I don't particularly care if the Grimm get you, but I'm willing to bet that everybody else in here sure does!" Roman called out from the remaining train car. He and everybody else who hadn't already tuned him out long ago braced themselves. Adam and the rest of the White Fang had moved up from the cars that they were protecting as they were released and promptly detonated, letting the cars in front of them pick up speed as they rode the shockwaves out with the new-found loss of mass. The engine car slammed into the sealed doors and promptly exploded, the energy from the shaped charges mounted on the front surging forward to force the doors open.

After the dust had settled, he found himself sitting upright against the metal floor. The train had flipped onto its side and one of the cases had been forced from the collision. A jar slipped from the case and cracked open.

"Oh," Roman drawled. Cinder had been very clear in her instructions. If you opened one jar, you opened them all. Failure to do so could mean the Grimm swarming over that one jar and ruining everything from his suit to his chances of survival. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"What's the problem now?" Adam groused. His head throbbed from the explosion. He looked around him. His brothers and sisters were rousing, but they had all taken some injury. Cinder said there was zero chance of anything going wrong. She had lied to them.

"The problem is that we need to start running and the job isn't done."

"Son of a-" Adam growled out.

"Yes, yes, you can curse your mother later. Right now, we need to get all these cases open." Roman knew exactly what Cinder was capable of. He may have been a mischievous brat growing up, but he knew from experience that only trouble came from someone who could lie so easily. The Grimm were at least honest about their intentions while Cinder was a wild card. The result?

He'd rather take his chances with the Grimm.

Adam bit back his anger. Instead of letting it flow out with his voice, he channeled it all to his sword, careful aiming to avoid his clansmen. One swift strike later, the cases were open. However, something was wrong.

He grabbed his chest in pain. He looked at his sword. "What... What the hell?" Wilt was melting. Blush, his sheathe, was fine, but the sword itself was melting.

And it hurt.

"You're welcome to stay, Adam, but if I were you and your friends, I'd charge in that general direction. Of course, you're more than welcome to provide a nice distraction for the Grimm for me and Neo here." Adam had never been good at dealing with anger and pain at the same time, and Roman was making him plenty angry. He slashed outwards with his disfigured sword, but the strike only shattered one of the few unopened jars. Its contents sprayed all over the still unconscious lieutenant.

The screams would forever haunt Adam.

Adam had, as most of the members of the old White Fang, been on the battlefield, though like many others, his experience was not solely with the oppressors of his kind. Unless, of course, one counted all the people of Remnant as his kind. Of the comparatively fewer times he had fought the Grimm, he had seen many of his comrades and the people he was charged with protecting been consumed by the beasts. The monsters would swarm the bodies, tearing them literally to shreds and pieces before even deciding to eat.

One of the last friends Adam had woken up immediately, the black and vile contents seemingly consuming him. The ooze clung to his flesh as it dissolved under its touch, not letting even a single drop of blood slip past its touch. It reminded Adam so much of how the Grimm would eat, eliciting as much pain as possible before deciding enough was enough and just finish the victim off.

It was like pain and suffering was what fed them.

Finally, he was gone. The screaming stopped. The distant roars and yells rung almost hollow on his ears as he beheld the puddle. It seemed so innocent, a stark contrast to the horrible way it consumed his friend. It couldn't have been natural, but the lieutenant said that Roman said it came from Cinder.

What the hell was Cinder doing with this stuff?

"Taurus!" Roman yelled in his ears, shocking him out of his stupor. "Look, I'm sorry about your friend, but it's time to move!" To his credit, the infamous criminal looked somewhat apologetic. However, it did nothing to assuage his emotions. Shock, fear, and most importantly rage were all that he felt right now. There was no room for sympathy for Torchwick or his associates.

Adam looked back towards the puddle, and then to the tunnel. He shook his head. "No. We're done. Tell your boss that her operation no longer includes the White Fang." He had lost one of his brothers today because of her. He refused to allow anymore to die as well.

Roman made to argue, but a dainty hand grabbed at his lapel. Neo shook her head and signaled that it was time to leave. Roman grimaced, but when he looked back towards Adam and the rest of the faunus were already sprinting away. He dramatically sighed and turned to his diminutive partner. Neo merely shrugged at the White Fang's disappearance. "Come, Neo. Shall we go enjoy Cinder's simply delightful company?" They both rolled their eyes at that, but she nodded nonetheless. The sound of glass shattering and they were gone.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**1\. This and the next chapter were originally going to be one chapter, but I decided against it. As a result, I'm splitting this mass of text into two. The next chapter is close to being done, so I can say for once that an update is coming up soon.**

**2.** **If you have nothing better to do and don't mind the occasional post of idiocy from people you've never met, I am on twitter under the handle "Ravoleck." I don't tweet often, but when I do, I end up regretting the inevitable grammar error I make in each one. **

**3\. After the next chapter, I'm going to work on something else besides this story. Hopefully, I finish it soon and come back to this quickly.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


	9. Verisimilitude

**None of the trademarks represented in Fate/Recondite are properties that I am associated with in a professional sense. This includes anything by Type-Moon or Rooster Teeth, LLC. I do not profit from this.**

* * *

It was chaos. Grimm were chasing people down in the street. Shelters that were thought of as safe havens in case of an emergency were quickly found to be made useless when the invaders had already breached the walls. A woman holding close her daughter sprinted down the street, praying to whatever gods were listening that something would deliver them from the Beowolf pursuing them. She tripped and screamed as the deadly creature leapt fang and claw first at the easy prey.

A gauntleted fist cracked against its skull before a burst of Dust-infused gunfire removed it entirely while the rest of its bulk was launched down the street. The fist opened and its blonde owner used it to pick the mother and her child up before pointing to the building across the street.

"Quick, get inside as fast as you can. Use whatever you can to barricade the doors and stay away from windows. Put as much stuff as you can between yourselves and the outside world," Yang instructed the woman. The woman sobbed and thanked her before running as quickly as possible with her child clutched tightly to her chest.

"Good work, Yang," Ruby praised. She raised her weapon and charged forward to fire at a few roaming Grimm, swiftly killing them. "Alright, Shirou, Team RWBY, let's clear out these Grimm!" She cheered, turning backs towards her team plus one and pumping a fist to get everybody fired up.

Her team started cheering with her, but a sudden rumbling interrupted them. Before anybody could react, the earth near Ruby's feet exploded upwards in a shower of stone and noise, throwing her off-balance. A King Taijitu burst from the freshly-dug tunnel, and reared back to strike at the young huntress-in-training caught unprepared. Ruby's life flashed before her silver eyes, and the world seemed to slow down as those bone-white fangs closed in on her.

"Trace on!"

Something long, dark, and thin flew over her head and crashed into the King Taijitu's head to forcibly snap it backwards. The giant beast's body collapsed and dissipated, leaving only a single object in the flurry of shadowy flakes.

A single arrow which quickly faded away into flakes of blue. Shocked, the four looked back at the only male nearby. What they found reminded them of that night in the forest ruins.

In Emiya Shirou's determined grip lay a black bow. He stood in an archer's stance with what looked like long practiced ease. The only thing unusual about it was the empty hand near the string of the bow as though he were ready to fire again, but it, they realized, wouldn't remain empty for long. However, what captured their attention were his eyes. Focused and sharp, they scanned the area around them with deadly intent. Beneath, a will of steel shone forth, ready to strike with a honed edge at any foes that dared make themselves known. Those were the same eyes from that night.

Satisfied at the lack of hostile forces, the edge softened. "Ruby, are you alright?" Shirou asked, his bow turning into motes of light before Team RWBY's eyes.

Stars shining in her own, Ruby squealed in adoration. She pulled herself up off of the ground, and started dancing around him in excitement. "You have the best semblance ever! You can make swords and arrows and even Crescent Rose! Weapon semblances are so cool! Later, you have to show me just what exactly y-"

"Ruby, gush later! We have work to do!" Yang reminded her while she pointedly gestured to the corner of her mouth. Confused, Ruby daintily felt at the same spot on her own face, and blushed slightly as she substituted the now wet finger tips with the sleeve of her combat outfit.

Trying to play off her slightly embarrassing attempt to wipe off her drool, she used that same arm to point towards the heart of Vale. "Right! Like I was saying, Team RWBYS, let's do this!" A chorus of agreement resounded behind her, this time remaining uninterrupted. Surreptitiously, she checked to make sure Shirou didn't seem to think less of her, pleasantly noting that his expression hadn't changed once in its intensity.

* * *

It was quiet.

He supposed that he should have been surprised that Cinder had gone through with the invasion plan, but he wasn't. Cinder, he realized, had placed too much stock into this strategy to abandon it partway through. All those months of laying low and hoarding dust, refusing to let anyone use it for anything other than this, wouldn't have been allowed to be wasted. He wondered what the expected end result of all this was. She'd never seen fit to let him or his partner know anything about it, just handing them mission assignments and telling them to act casual at Beacon. It was all laying in wait and moving into action when the moment arose.

"I wonder when that is exactly." Mercury laid back in the inky blackness of his holding cell. He wasn't sure how long it had been since he last had been out. Somehow, his sanity had remained intact. As much as he had hated making him a role model, he acted exactly how that abrasive bastard would act in his place. So he put on a show for any cameras hidden from sight, trying to act aloof and nonchalant as possible for as long as needed.

Still, he could feel the open sky waiting for him, calling his name. He longed to run and be free, able to pretend that the legs Heff, a very comely and competent weapons designer, made for him were actually made of flesh and bone instead of wires and steel. But here, he didn't even have those. All of his weapons were stripped from him, in more ways than one. Well, those that could be removed anyway. Every part of his body was a weapon, metal or not.

Suddenly, he could hear noise beyond the occasional chirp of electronics and the whir of that rusted fan ventilating air into his cell. It was muffled through the strong and thick walls, but he strained himself to make out what it was. It was difficult, but they sounded like...

Footsteps. They were footsteps.

They stopped outside his door, and suddenly he was blinded again, the world coming back into color in the light. Unable to help himself, he shielded his eyes and hissed in pain. The moment passed and his eyes got readjusted to the light level.

"Look, if you're coming to me with questions about what's going on, I already told your general that I-" He paused as he recognized who opened the door. He smirked, hands still behind his head in an attempt to seem cool. "Hey babe. I knew you couldn't resist staying away from me for too long."

Getting onto the ship where Mercury was being kept had been almost comical. All the crewmen had dropped down into the streets below, leaving the ships on auto-pilot. They weren't even using the guns on the ships. Probably because there was risk of hitting innocents, she guessed. That kind of naivety would normally be laughable.

However, Emerald didn't exactly feel like laughing at the moment.

A ball of lead was forming in the pit of Mercury's stomach as the silence ran on. Usually, this was the part where she tried to bust one or both of his eardrums or steal something valuable from him. This flat stare she was giving him was unnerving.

"Emerald? You okay?"

She drew her weapons.

"Emerald, what are you doing with those? Just let me loose. I'm right here. Just press the release key and help me get to my legs! We can go back to the boss easily enough!"

"Cinder says that you're compromised. My mission isn't to retrieve you."

She aimed her firearms, and that ball of lead sank from his stomach all the way down to the floor. He knew exactly what happened to compromised assets. He and Emerald were what happened.

And here he was, cornered with no way out and completely defenseless.

"I didn't say anything! Wait! Emerald-"

Several loud gunshots cracked, fading just as quickly as they sparked into existence.

* * *

A gauntleted fist collided with the Ursa's skull as a salvo of light gunfire cut down the small flock of Nevermores flanking with it. "Well, this could be worse," Yang offered. A flurry of movement caught her eye as she repositioned herself back with the rest of her group. "More Grimm to the right! They're bunched up together too!"

Weiss raised her rapier and lit the alleyway ablaze, Myrtenaster glowing a violent orange. "How? There are Grimm everywhere, they're attacking civilians, and we have no idea where they're coming from!" She cried out over the roaring sound of the fire consuming Beowolves.

"We could be doing it alone!" Yang called back. She easily dodged a series of savage swipes from another Ursa. The fiery blonde let loose a salvo of her own of explosive rounds at close range, letting herself get caught in the blowback. She grinned as the flames woven into her hair grew in strength.

Blake watched as Yang dove back into the throng of bone and black flesh. Sometimes, she worried about her partner. Blake slashed down at the soft spot in an Ursa's nest, making sure to keep an eye on Yang's back. As focused as she was, she nearly missed the trio of Beowolves diving at her. Several sets of claws dug into pale flesh, but instead of blood erupting as the Grimm expected, their prey faded into nothingness. They didn't have the time to even pause in confusion as Gambol Shroud cleaved through their frames.

"Yang's right!" a cheerful cried. A trio of Beowolves suddenly found themselves without heads as a flurry of roses flitted past them. "This could be a lot worse. We could have been all the way back at Beacon, but we're here on the front lines, making a difference as we prote-" The crackle of a lightning bolt drowned out the rest of what she was saying as the Griffon above her exploded into feathers and black smoke.

"Ruby! Seriously, get your head in the game!" Weiss scolded. Ruby had the courtesy to look embarrassed as she meekly poked the evaporating skull with Crescent Rose. "This isn't a test, it's the real deal!"

"Sorry!" Ruby squared her shoulders and ran as only she could. Rose petals flew as the team leader raked her scythe in an arc around her, reaping through dark fur and skin as black as the night as she went. Every swing of the blade was punctuated with a sniper round, letting the weapon to spin faster and faster.

Shirou watched the reaper tear through her enemies, corralling them closer and closer to the rest of her squad. He picked off any Grimm that tried to sneak up on the girls or tried to escape with a pluck of his tautly strung bow. The entirety of his focus was on protecting them and any civilians that looked like they might get caught in the crossfire.

"Shirou, look out!" A pained grunt tore its way past his lips as a set of talons raked down his back. The large Nevermore crowed in triumph as he was thrown off the roof, watching as he landed roughly on the pavement two stories below. It could hear a few sharp cracks as a few of the human's ribs cracked and screeched in excitement.

"Shirou!" The panic in their voices refocused his swimming vision. He looked up and found the bird-like Grimm launching itself down at him with its beak forward, ready to spear him. A hundred blades launched to the forefront of his mind, all of them ready to draw blood, but the sounds of singing magic and rushing air broke his concentration. Something crashed into the Nevermore hard enough to slam it into the building and shower Shirou with small debris, forcing him to cover his eyes.

When he looked back up, the beast had been pinned to the side of the building, cracks in the rock wall under its frame formed from the force of impact. A massive, ornate blade of ice kept it still even as it struggled to free itself, its efforts gradually slowing until it stilled completely.

"You're not the only one who can make swords," Weiss crowed behind him. Shirou nodded his thanks at the assist. The Nevermore faded away, the beautifully crafted ice sculpture still firmly lodged in the wall the only evidence it had been there. Idly, he committed the weapon to the Unlimited Blade Works. Pretty or not, it was still a sword, and he could use it.

Blake and Ruby rushed to his side and helped him into a more comfortable sitting position. "Let me get a look at those wounds," Blake said as she moved the tatters of his shirt out of the way. She grimaced and Ruby gasped at the long scratches that dripped red and the sharp lumps on his side. "This is bad. You must be completely drained of aura if you're hurt like this."

Shirou shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I can handle this. We need to keep moving on. There are still others who need us." He struggled to stand, the corners of his mouth pulled taut in a flat line. His eyes kept scanning the rooftops and alleyways, shining in determination.

Ruby thought that this must be what a hero looks like. Yang, on the other hand, thought he was an idiot. She knew what happened to heroes. "Not a chance. If you keep fighting, then you're just going to get even more hurt. Or worse. We need to get you to a medic."

"I'm fine. I can keep fighting. It'll heal quickly enough anyway."

"And I said no. I don't care how quickly you'll heal, you still have no aura," Yang ground out. The other three could only watch helplessly as the two butt heads.

Shirou frowned as he fully turned to regard Yang. "It's unfortunate, but the Grimm need to be dealt with first before anything else," he argued.

"Tough! I'm not about to let you die before I get my chance to say sorry!" she growled at him, her anger finally reaching its boiling point. Shirou's eyes widened in surprise before softly closing in reflection. He remembered Blake saying it would take Yang time and he knew that the blonde was impulsive, but he didn't think she'd say anything about that night on a battlefield.

"Well, you can apologize later, Miss Xiao Long. Right now, my team could use a bit of help here," a new voice interjected.

"Professor Oobleck! Professor Port! Team CFVY!" Weiss and Ruby rushed to their side, helping take the badly hurt Yatsuhashi off of Fox's and Coco's shoulders. "What happened?"

The doctor bit back any response he might have had about his title. However much he had earned being addressed properly, now simply wasn't the time for it. "Our mission to clear any Grimm from Mountain Glenn ended in a complete disaster when-"

"Those White Fang scum ambushed us from out of nowhere and hurt Yatsu!" Coco growled out, interrupting Oobleck. She pulled her tote bag out from behind her back and mechashifted it into its much more menacing form. "And now I see that the Grimm they let into city have destroyed all the good shops on this street. If you'll excuse me, Mama's gotta work out some frustration." The rest of them just watched as Coco revved her minigun and marched down the torn up street to meet the incoming wave of monsters, albeit with a slight limp.

"No matter how much that one might scare me, I will admit that she at least has her priorities straight," Bartholomew muttered quietly to Peter. He went unheard as the roar of gunfire and the clinking of empty shells against the shattered cement below.

"Twenty lien says she takes out at least three alphas," Peter whispered back.

"You're on." The only one to catch their aside, Shirou sighed and shook his head. Honestly, it was like his first day on the job all over again. In his opinion, the two of them needed a new hobby that didn't include betting on someone's odds of survival.

"Professors, what do we do now?" Blake asked the two mature adults who taught them how to slay dangerous beasts.

"We fight, dear girl!" Professor Port raised his weapon in response, only to grunt in pain when he held it up too high. "But first, I suppose a brief trip to the nurse's office might be in order."

"Ya got that right, " Yang muttered, giving a sidelong glance to the red-haired pain in the neck. "Try telling that to Mister Selfless here."

"Isn't that the janitor? What's he doing here?"

A delicate green eyebrow lifted. "Mister Emiya, what does she mean by that? Are you perchance injured in some way?"

"No, seriously, isn't this a combat zone? Won't he just get hurt being here?"

Shirou shook his head, seeming much more steady than he had minutes ago. "I took a blow earlier, but I'm healed now." The statement caused Blake to blink in surprise. She craned her head to look at his back again, and sure enough, the steady stream of blood had trickled to a standstill and his ribs were completely healed. There wasn't even a scratch.

"STOP IGNORING ME!"

The piercing shout startled everybody. The conversation halted as both Team RWBY and the staff of Beacon blankly stared at the person responsible, unable to mentally connect the commanding voice with the figure it belonged to.

Velvet smiled meekly. "Sorry. Coco said I needed to practice being more aggressive."

"No, it's quite alright, Miss Scarletina. What was it you needed?"

"What is he doing here?" she asked again.

" Emiya Shirou is one of the finest staff members Beacon has to offer. I dare say he might be the most capable person I've heard of in a fight," Professor Port boasted. He'd never actually seen the lad fight, but the way Ozpin assured the rest of the staff certainly helped cultivate a reliable reputation for the him.

Fox chimed in coolly, "Oh, so he's a security guard."

Yang snickered as she readjusted the way the large warrior on her shoulder into a more comfortable position. "Close. He's a janitor."

"Yang, the proper term is a custodian," Weiss rebuked. She beamed when Shirou smiled softly and nodded in thanks.

"We're putting our lives in the hands of some janitor?" Fox groaned. A bestial screech from high above startled the recovering group down below. Fox cursed and raised his trench knives to defend himself, but there was no need as an arrow buried itself swiftly square between the eyes of the Nevermore. Unseeing eyes blinked at the awkward sound of a heavy body smashing and scraping along the ground until it came to rest not two feet from where he stood.

Collectively, they glanced at the young archer. "What? It was attacking us."

"Right, but where did you get the arrow from? You have no quiver, and your clothes are too tight to really hide any weapons." Shirou only shrugged in response and projected another arrow into being for a few scant moments before letting it break apart.

The present members of Team CFVY's breath hitched.

"That arrow..." Velvet murmured as she watched the sleek weapon dissipate into motes of light. It reminded her so much of her own "What was that? Was it made of dust?" It couldn't be. Semblances can't make physical objects and even her own work with dust couldn't produce something as carefully and fully crafted as that.

Truth be told, it made her feel somewhat inadequate. She had poured entire vials of dust and years of research and work to develop her fighting style, and a kid around her age had somehow created something far more complete than the framework structures she produced. The fact that he didn't have a set up like hers only added insult to injury. How did he do it?

Several thousand bullets and most of her anger spent, Coco returned in time to hear Blake's explanation of "Shirou's semblance is weapons." The fashionista grimaced. Somebody whose defining characteristic was 'weapon' was more than likely somebody violent and uncouth. After all, semblances weren't just cool abilities that people randomly got or inherited; they were reflections of their very souls. For somebody to identify as a weapon, they'd have to be seriously screwed up. Just at a guess, the two most likely ways were either a love of fighting more than anything else or seeing themselves as only good at fighting.

"Well, I'm feeling a little better." Seeing the quiet newcomer, she took in his appearance like with a critical eye. She snorted at the sight. "Wow, you seriously have no sense of style. Plain shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I can't even tell what your emblem is," Coco jokingly chided.

"Emblem?" He'd never heard of them. The headmaster had failed to make any mention of them, so it probably wasn't something important.

"You know, your personal symbol." She met his blank stare with an upturned eyebrow. "Oh come on, you know, the practice created after the War?" Her exasperation turned to disbelief as Shirou shook his head 'no'. "It's your personal crest, the expression of your individuality! Come on, everybody knows this stuff."

A thoughtful look crossed his face for only a second before realization flashed across it. "Ah, right. My emblem." Now that he thought about it, he should have realized it much earlier. Every huntsmen he had met had it somewhere on their person, even the students. "I don't have one. It's never really mattered that much to me before."

That was pretty sad. "Huh. Well, that won't do. Come see me sometime. I'll help you get started on one." It'd help her get a better idea of this guy's character, though she was starting to get an uneasy feeling that she knew what kind of guy he was.

"A conversation for another time, children," Port interrupted, shifting his weight onto his good leg and unintentionally drawing attention to the small pool of blood beneath the other. "I, for one, would like to make haste towards a medical station to recuperate."

"You got it, Professor! Team RWBY, let's lead the way!" Ruby commanded as she and her squad took point, escorting their companions to safety.

"Out of curiosity, Miss Adel, did you encounter any alphas during your... stress relief exercise?" Doctor Oobleck asked. Shirou rolled his eyes even as Professor Port leaned in closer.

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's for data collection on Grimm migratory patterns. Now, tell me: exactly how many did you kill?"

* * *

Oh God, he was going to die. This was like the field trip all over again, except a thousand times worse. Jaune slashed at the Ursa, swinging desperately to just hit something. It knocked back his blade, the edge barely finding any purchase in the white plates on its arms. It swung back, a massive paw careening down towards his head. He rolled to avoid the blow as the almost-fist shattered the concrete he was standing on moments before. He was about to run away and try to lure the beast to another huntsman so they could team up against it. Sure, it'd make him look weak, but at least he'd be alive to be embarrassed about it.

He was about to put his plan into action when he heard a weak and terrified cry. It sounded young. Oh God, there was a kid behind him, and judging by the way its head snapped towards the sound, the Grimm had heard just well as Jaune did. If he ran... No. That was no longer an option. He refused to let this child get hurt. He would save everybody he could!

The Ursa lumbered towards the child, and Jaune raced to meet it. He swung again, silver arcing in from the side, but the blade was again knocked back, the sword almost tearing from his grasp at the strength of the blow. He jumped back from the follow up swing, nearly stumbling. He righted himself, doubt plaguing his mind. If he stumbled again, would he fall?

_Keep your sword arm up._

He wouldn't stumble again. He didn't have that luxury right now. He swung viciously with no real aim as the Ursa blocked again with its bone-like plates, but this time, Jaune could see deeper grooves and gashes gouged out of them. Still, he was getting nowhere with this tactic. It was only a matter of time before he tired out and the still crying kid was next.

_Don't swing wildly. Your attacks should be decisive._

His mind raced to find a weakness, a gap in its armor-like plating, anything! How did he do it last time? Then he spotted it as the Ursa rose up and roared its challenge at him. There! Just above its collarbone, there was a separation in the plating. If he struck there with enough force, he could kill it.

The Ursa finished its bellowing roar and lunged down to take a massive bite out of him with its powerful jaws. In Grimm Studies class, they'd learnt that a Ursa bite could puncture and rip right through steel. If he let that hit him, he'd be dead!

_Lean into your left leg more when you block._

Jaune braced against his forward leg as he brought his shield to bare. The Ursa's jaws found no purchase against the smooth metal. The strength behind the attack nearly staggered him, but he kept his footing, if only barely. However, the Ursa had made a mistake. It was overextended and off-balance, fully expecting to have finished its battle with the blonde. It had failed to do so, but Jaune pushed off of his leg, the weight of his stance and frame adding to the strength of his blow.

Jaune watched as the Ursa's head rolled along the ground before it vanished into black smoke. He just stood there for a moment, watching as the rest of the black beast vanished with it. He did it. He won!

Another small cry tore his attention away from his victory. The boy! He'd forgotten about the boy! "Don't worry, kid! I'm gonna help you!"

Nearby, a certain redhead beamed in pride as she watched Jaune dig through rubble. It seemed like her lessons were finally paying off.

* * *

Team RWBY plus Shirou had successfully, if not entirely safely, ensured that the injured professors and students were put into the care of a medical squad. Yang had tried to get a medic to look at Shirou's back, but with no wounds to look at, there was no need to keep him away from the battlefield. It was noted that his aura was drained completely, but the only real cure to that was time. As long as Shirou kept it slow, it would come back soon enough.

"I don't get it. You're completely outta aura, but you still heal super quickly anyway?" Yang pondered. Chalk up another point to the janitor's weirdness.

Blake chimed in quietly from the back. "You have to admit that it is a little unusual, Shirou. There are very few huntsmen who can generate aura as quickly as you did, but none of them stop rebuilding immediately after they've healed completely."

"A matter for another time, children. I need a status report on what's happening," a stern voice interrupted. Professor Glynda Goodwitch had finally returned to Vale proper. Called away to Mountain Glenn in response to an emergency distress signal from one of Team CFVY's scrolls, the stern professor had immediately rushed back to aid in the defense after receiving hearing about the breach. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her wayward charges, breathing a silent sigh of relief. It was somewhat annoying, all that travel for nothing, but knowing they were all still alive more than made up for that.

General James Ironwood walked at her side, one of his sleeves torn to shreds. The glint of his arm's cold steel skin shone beneath the tattered cloth. At Glynda's request, he had aided her to help retrieve her wayward charges, but instead of any spare soldiers he might have had on hand like she had initially asked for, he had gone himself. That Mercury kid had refused to talk, leaving them bereft of a time frame in which this attack might have happened, but he couldn't resist the chance to spend some alone time with the beautiful teacher that had captured his heart. He had never imagined that in the span of a single afternoon, everything would go to hell.

"Professor Goodwitch! Grimm have invaded the city. We've been trying to rally with other huntsmen and students in the city while trying to defend civilians, but there's so many of them," Ruby cried. This was easily the worst day she'd ever had.

The general's scroll chirped in his pocket. He pulled it out and scanned the latest report. "My men have narrowed down the breach to the commercial district and have set up a quarantine around the perimeter. However, the exact location remains unknown."

" With this many of them coming in so quickly, it would have to be a pretty large opening. If we had higher ground, we could probably see it," Blake theorized.

"Agreed. Glynda, can you get us up higher?" James asked. Glynda nodded as she flicked her crop, now pulsating softly with purple light. The ground beneath them tore and cracked before it split away from the street and lifted them onto the highest nearby rooftop. "Keep your eyes peeled. It may be easy to miss."

It took a few moments of the seven of them searching, but Glynda saw it quickly enough. "There!" The courtyard that played host to the abandoned tunnel that led to Mountain Glenn. She cursed the project for what must have been the thousandth time. Even after all these years, that plan was still biting them in the ass. It was so far from their current position, it'd take some time before she could reach the breach and seal off the entrance. It felt like a Herculean task, especially with so many lives at risk.

As if by some divine cue, a cacophony of mad trumpets rang out from deep inside the tunnel.

"Goliaths," Glynda gasped. She thought that the nearest herd of the massive and long-lived Grimm was miles and miles away. Had they followed sound of destruction through the cavern? The panicked screams of a woman surrounded by Beowolves drew her attention. She continued crying even after the rubble beneath the Grimm had shredded them into pieces courtesy of the professor's efforts. No, she realized, it was the profound negative emotions that the breach had caused. They'd been drawn to it like moths to a flame.

"What? So close? If they clear the doors, they'll level the whole city!" Ironwood realized and radioed the new information to his troops. Sharp gasps and soft mutters caught his attention as Team RWBY reminded him that they were there. He cursed under his breath. Inciting undue panic was one of the last things he wanted to do, letting others die chief among them.

"What... What do we do?" Blake looked just as hopeless as she felt. The breach was so far away from their current position. They'd never be able to reach it in time, and from the looks of it, nobody else was close enough to do anything about it either.

Professor Goodwitch gnawed at her bottom lip, her stern visage cracked in worry. As she moved to say something to comfort them, the twang of a bowstring caught both her and the general's attention. Shirou hadn't stopped sniping at the invaders below. A conversation from earlier that day leapt to the forefront of their minds.

General Ironwood marched over to Shirou, any subtlety or secrecy disregarded in the urgency of the situation. "Ozpin said that you have an endless number of symbols. Do you have any that can stop those Grimm?"

Shirou looked back towards the bewildered girls behind the general, unsure. "Is this wise? The headmaster said that revealing the full extent of what I can do would-"

General Ironwood grabbed him fiercely by the shoulders. "Shirou, forget what Ozpin told you! If nothing is done about those Goliaths soon, Vale and everybody inside will fall!" he shouted.

Shirou's eyes hardened like newly forged steel. He gently pushed the general's hands aside and walked to the ledge of the rooftop. Projecting constantly for the past couple of hours meant that he was nearing his limit. However, that had never really stopped him from pulling bone-headed antics before. He had also taken to studying various kinds of Grimm in his breaks from training, so he knew what havoc those monsters would wreak if they weren't stopped.

Holding back anything was a luxury, one that was now no longer affordable. Looking inside his armory, he tried to find something, anything, that could act as a solution to this mess and prevent this situation from escalating any further. Finally, he found it, but the traced bow he was using wouldn't suffice for what was needed of it. He needed something better suited to launch the sword that lay at the forefront of his mind properly.

He needed t_hat_ bow.

_"I am the bone of my sword."_

Ruby's breath caught in the swell of her throat. Without looking, she knew that her teammates' had as well. That feeling of power, that overwhelming presence was back, but it wasn't affecting her this time. No, it wasn't like that night. That night, it had blanketed the air, threatening to smother her and everybody else. This time, it was focused and aimed like a burning laser that promised to cut down any foolish enough in its path.

The nameless bow scattered into so many blue lights, before Archer's Bow shattered into existence. It was made of that same material that had formed his own moments earlier and it was designed to fire arrows, but _his_ bow was a thing of beauty. Its curvature was different from the bows he typically used, but its strength and firing power far exceeded anything he could have made. It was designed for firing Noble Phantasms after all. Shirou tried to call the other image in his mind into being, but the bow was already near the extent of his what current level would allow. If thought was to be put to action, he'd need to go further than this.

_"Steel is my body and fire is my blood."_

They could do nothing but watch as Shirou held aloft that massive bow, the presence it possessed freezing them all in place. A chill raced up their spines as the laser focused further and surged, like a gun loading a massive bullet. A strange, massive arrow with a spiraling edge formed in Shirou's hand.

No. That was wrong.

What he is readying in his bow was not an 'arrow', but something completely different. Even the briefest glance told them that what he held in his hand was filled with immense, tightly restrained power. It held an aura of lethality that even the general had rarely encountered before. As for the girls, they had never even imagined that something could feel so dangerous.

Shirou nocked the altered sword. He aimed. He called aloud the aria that awakened that Noble Phantasm's latent power.

**_"My core lays twisted into madness."_**

And he fired.

**"Caladbolg!"**

They watched in awe as that 'arrow' that seemed to scream practically tore itself from his grip. It raced through the air like a rocket, crossing the distance to crash into the tunnel. Even Ruby, with all the speed her semblance could grant her, could barely keep her eyes on it, it moved so fast. And then it hit its target.

It was like being near an exploding star, the light and sound were so great. The roars of the Goliaths were quickly swept away by the hot noise of a Noble Phantasm detonating in their midst. It was impossible to tell their ultimate fate as the shockwave caused a cave-in, the buildings that crowned the tunnel collapsing and burying the entrance with thousands of pounds of rock which obscured all vision of the monsters.

Utterly drained, Shirou let Archer's Bow fade. The danger of more Grimm invading the city had passed now that the breach was sealed and from what he had seen with his enhanced sight, the other huntsmen in Vale were already cleaning up the last wave of the sinful creatures. However, projecting weapons of that level had its consequences, especially since he was already starting to fatigue beforehand.

Shirou collapsed to his knees, sweat pouring from every pore in his skin. His circuits burned in protest, screaming at him for using that combination of projections and his vision blurred as unconsciousness threatened to take him. He had been increasing how much mana he could use slowly but surely over the past couple of months, but he had just pushed his circuits far beyond their limits this time. Rest would see him restoring to prime condition, but it would take a while. Likely, he'd be unable to do anymore until tomorrow at the very least.

"What the hell was that?" Yang breathed low and frenzied, her eyes wide as she tried to take in the sight of thick smoke and dust billowing where there once was a plaza and a few apartment buildings. It was a terrifying scene, her mind struggling to connect such power with the kindly custodian. Had he always been capable of that? Had he really held back that much all this time?

Professor Goodwitch tried to field an answer to Yang's question, a question that burned at the tip of the other girls' tongues, trying to improvise something believable. However, that man made it very difficult. "That was an aspect of Mister Emiya's semblance. Though it comes at a great cost to himself, he's able to manife-"

"I don't believe that for an instant. Semblances can do a lot, but they can't make truly corporeal objects, especially not something like that." Velvet had quietly pulled her aside and reminded her of that fact. The older faunus girl had asked if she would be willing to introduce her to Shirou more appropriately so that she could get his notes on his weaponry. Velvet had claimed that she had been working for years to even come close to what Shirou had accomplished and wondered what types of dust he used and how he did it so subtly that she couldn't even see him do it. When the heiress said that it was his semblance, Velvet gave her a look that she herself often gave Ruby when she caught her asleep in Professor Port's class.

_'I thought you of all people would know that it's impossible for somebody to manifest objects as anything more than astral projections.'_

Her cheeks had burned with slight heat as she realized she had forgotten such a basic fact from her training.

Ironwood grimaced as he remembered the white-haired girl's lineage. Winter had mentioned what was expected of a Schnee during one of the few times he could get her to talk about her family. She had sounded particularly proud, or smug depending on who one asked, as she talked about how talented her sister was. "Regardless of how much an expert you might be, Miss Schnee, what you're asking about is classified information."

"That's not fair! Shirou's our friend, and we've been trusted with classified stuff before!" Yang shouted, pointing at Shirou who was still struggling to stand. "Earlier, he was badly hurt, and then he was fine, and now he looks like he's about to die again! What is going on?"

"You haven't been trusted with classified intel, you merely stumbled upon it. Now, you will-"

"General Ironwood," Shirou interrupted. He struggled to push himself to his knees as Ruby and Weiss rushed over to lend him a shoulder each to lean on. "It's fine. There doesn't seem to be much point in hiding it anymore."

"It's a security risk," Ironwood argued, holstering his service pistol now that the action seemed to be over for the most part. "The more people that know, the more likely it is that critical information can be leaked to any potential enemies. Information wins wars, and the more we can deprive the other side of it, the better our chances for survival become."

Shirou looked back towards the smoking remains of the tunnel, twisting his neck to see over his shoulder even as his muscles painfully strained in protest. "It's like you said earlier. It doesn't matter much anymore. Whoever caused all this was bound to see that. Besides, I think I can trust these guys. They're smart enough to puzzle it out, and I know for a fact that there aren't any rumors about me floating around Beacon." The four of them couldn't help but feel a not-so-small surge of pride at that.

Glynda and James shared a glance, a silent debate taking place between them over the course of a couple seconds. Hesitantly, the two nodded at Shirou before James agreed with the girls. "Fine, but it should be in private."

* * *

The sun was setting, a fiery blending of orange and red hues clashing against the last calming vestiges of the blue midday sky. Team RWBY sat quietly next to Shirou on the cliff face that overlooked Vale, mild shock and deep contemplation etched elegantly on their faces. Shirou had just told them the truth, that he was not just a custodian or somebody hired for undercover security work, but that he was a mage from another world. He had told them that he had no semblance or aura, instead creating swords and other armaments from pure mana and force of will. They were quiet for a while, watching the sun finally dip below the horizon, the blazing sky extinguishing into cool night. Finally, one of them spoke.

"So," Weiss began slowly, processing what Shirou had just told them and what it implied. "You're really a wizard from another world?" She asked hesitantly. His story certainly seemed fantastical, but the facts just seemed to add up.

Shirou hesitated at that particular title. Even with as little contact with other mages as he had had, he knew some of the horror stories of those who called themselves wizards. "Something like that. That particular word means something different to me than it does to you though."

"Regardless," she pressed. "You're not from this world."

"No," he said with such surety that it left no doubt in them of anything else.

"Alright then. We believe you. But why are you here?" Blake asked. "Was it something like an experiment gone wrong or were you just bored of your world?" In all the books that she read, all the stories that contained wizards and spell casters depicted them as incredibly smart and constantly experimenting with new spells and rituals. Maybe one of Shirou's magic spells had gone wrong and he ended up here by mistake.

He sighed and watched as the broken moon take the sun's place in the sky, its broken pieces a reminder of what it could be. "There was a war. There were other magi who were fighting for a powerful artifact that could grant any wish. However, using it would have killed every person in the world, so I helped stop it. It tried to prevent its death, and it opened a hole that sucked me in and dumped me here."  
It was a gross oversimplification, but it was starting to get late. Given the events of the day, surely he could be forgiven for leaving some details out.

"Why haven't you gone back yet then?" Yang asked, leaning back with her palms flat against the rapidly cooling ground. Her violet eyes tracked the last vestiges of sunlight reaching over the skyline. "I mean, that sounds like the kind of thing you should see through to the end."

A twinge of annoyance flickered to life in Shirou's heart. "I agree. I'm just not able to right now. I don't know how to." His tone was morose.

Ruby tilted her head to the side. "What? Why not? Aren't wizards supposed to be really smart and able to figure this stuff out easily?"

His annoyance grew. "I'm," he started to explain, wearing a sour expression, only to pause. "I'm a third-rate magus. The only reason I can do this is because I'm so attuned to them," he grumbled, projecting a beautiful blade none of them had ever seen before. What felt like an electric shock painfully coursed through his magic circuits, and he let the mundane blade fade away.

Ruby wiped the drool off her chin as she asked, "What do you mean 'attuned'?"

Shirou tried to think of an easy way to explain to the young girl. "In the most basic sense, my element is swords. There's a lot more to it than that, but some of it is a little over even my head."

Ruby let the subject drop easily enough. However, another thought struck her. "Like that arrow you fired?"

He nodded, pretending not to notice the way the others were waiting with naked anticipation. The drone of the Bullheads buzzing over the rapidly reconstructing city, the smell of ash and wet concrete wafting through the air. "It was my magic. I can project any bladed weapon I've personally seen using my mana along with all their attributes. It used to exist once in my world, and it was just as powerful as the one I made today."

"So that's how you used Ruby's weapon. You recreated it!" Weiss deduced, a guess that Shirou nodded to. Her mind raced towards the next logical conclusion. "Does that mean you can even recreate other people's fighting style as well?"

"For the most part. When I traced Crescent Rose, I couldn't fully grasp Ruby's fighting style. It may be a scythe, but it's also a gun," Shirou revealed. "I can understand how Ruby can use it as a melee weapon, but I cannot understand how it's used at range. It's not that I don't understand how to use a gun, it's that my magic is unable to adapt to it. After all, my element is sword, not weapon."

Something that the general said flitted across Ruby's mind. "Earlier, General Ironwood said you have 'an endless number of symbols.' What did he mean by that?"

Shirou blinked at the question. "Well, in my world, legendary humans wielded objects, or 'symbols', of great power and renown. Some of them are somewhat similar to Caladbolg, but a lot of them have varied effects like severing magical contracts or turning me invisible."

Caster's Rule Breaker and Saber's Carnwennan were not the most powerful blades, but in the right situations, there were few more effective than them. In fact, he was convinced that if Saber had instead been summoned as Assassin, she would have wielded that instead of Excalibur.

"During the war, I was exposed to a great number of swords by somebody whose magic was similar to mine, except he had seen an endless number of them himself. So when the general said I had an endless number of symbols, he meant exactly that." He turned to look at the four girls, his casual tone seemingly at odds with what he was implying.

"I have an infinite number of swords."

Blake and Weiss' jaws dropped at the idea. The scope of Shirou's strength was, if they were being honest with themselves, somewhat terrifying. The two of them tried to imagine what certain parties might do if Shirou was allied with them. Yang idly kicked her feet in the open air next to the cliff side, mollified now that she knew just how capable Shirou was of taking care of himself. As for Ruby...

Ruby's brain had just short-circuited.

"Are all your swords as powerful as that one?" Yang asked.

"Some of them are. Most of them are mundane in nature." The stars were emerging, the inky black of the void of the night sky giving way to the pale, shattered orb. The wind was starting to pick up, the bitter chill of the cold air biting into their flesh.

Ruby's brain finally finished rebooting. "You are officially the coolest guy I have ever met," she said quietly, shaking slightly in her seat.

"Huh?"

Yang palmed her face. "Ooh boy, here we go." The blonde bombshell reached out for the reaper's hood to try and calm her down, but all she got was a handful of rose petals.

"Showmeshowmeshowme!" Ruby, despite her tiny size and Shirou's much larger frame, was spinning the two of them in endless circles around the courtyard. Ruby had grabbed Shirou's collar in her tiny fists. None of them had ever seen her this excited before as she spun so fast, Shirou's feet couldn't even touch the ground.

The world was swimming as Shirou finally broke out of Ruby's grip. "Show you what?"

"Your swords! Show me all of your swords!" she squealed. She danced a little at the thought of all that shining metal before her with flaming swords and blades the size of men. Her grin grew larger at the idea of tearing into Grimm flesh with a blade longer than she was.

"I can't right now."

Ruby flushed slightly. She must look so bossy right now. Idly, she wondered if this was how Weiss felt when they teased her. "Well, of course not right now! I meant some other time when you're feeling bet-"

"No, I mean, I don't have the ability to do it. Even fully rested with all my mana, I can't use the Unlimited Blade Works to its fullest potential." Shirou pulled himself from Ruby's suddenly deathly still grasp and stood up.

While the lover of all things shiny and pointy looked devastated at the news, Yang gave her two cents on the situation. "That is the coolest name for an ability I've ever heard." Silently, Blake thought the exact same thing.

A wind blew across the silent courtyard and Weiss shivered. "Let's go inside. I think dinner is starting soon." The others nodded. A hot meal with all the other students sounded really good right about now. "Shirou, would you like to join us? I'm sure Team JNPR wouldn't mind having you eat with us," Weiss offered.

Shirou smiled softly and nodded. "I'd love to."

* * *

Somewhere, very far away in the far corner of Remnant, something stirred. A creature of power and greed which outstripped anything the people of Remnant had ever encountered before. Angry, royal crimson eyes snapped open and a single word of utmost vehemence oozed out from it like venom from a coiled viper. It lurched from where it awakened, moving to go and destroy this realm. However, its injuries left it far too weak. That word slipped past its lips again, cursing the one that had left it like this.

"**Faker.**"

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**1\. Well, I said "relatively soon", but I think we've all figured out that time means very little to me. Been trying to go through the motions, but it's been hard lately. Doesn't mean I'm giving up on this story though.**

**2\. Things get a lot more fun from here on out. The story so far has been establishing the scene and the characters, so now we get to see development. I have this mapped out as a three arc story, and we just finished the first arc where Shirou starts making a real home with friends who know and accept him. Things should get a lot more lighthearted from now on, meaning there'll be less focus on action.**

**Do what makes you happy. **


	10. Abatement

**I do not own any of the content found in Fate/Recondite beyond the original characters and plot progression. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC. and Fate/Stay Night belongs . I do not profit off of writing any of this.**

**As we move into the second arc of this story, F/R will start to take on a more amiable tone and try to keep true its 'Humor' tag. **

**Where the first arc is about establishing the setting and the characters, the second is about the dynamics between them. It's time for F/R to truly live up to its humor tag.**

* * *

"Shirou, can I borrow a vacuum cleaner?"

The voice coming from the doorway startled him. "Huh?" Pulling his hands away from the breaker box, Shirou turned around to look at Ruby who sheepishly drew a circle on the ground with the toe of her boot. He set the spare fuses onto the table at his side and wiped his hands with a towel he kept handy. The little reaper had caught him in the main custodial room where they kept most of the equipment needed to keep Beacon up and running, the breaker box for the dorms on one of the walls.

Ruby finally looked up and met his eyes as she repeated her request. She shrugged and looked around the room, her silver eyes catching on a thick wooden door on one side of the room. "A vacuum cleaner. Can we borrow one? Like one for really deep cleaning."

Shirou cocked his head to one side. He really didn't want to ask, but when the words 'deep cleaning' came out of the mouth of somebody like Ruby, alarms went off in his head. Cautiously, he asked, "Why?"

"Uhhhh..."

* * *

"It's everywhere! It's even in my books!"

"Zwei, bad dog!"

"Woof!"

"Why do we even have all this glitter?!"

Ruby's cheeks flushed as she tried to avoid his gaze. "Look, to keep a long story short: I'm totally not gonna get to finish that diorama project for Professor Oobleck's class."

Seeing the young girl so embarrassed, Shirou decided to leave the topic alone. "Well, there is one vacuum that nobody's using at the moment, but..." Shirou trailed off as he thought about the machine in question.

That was more than enough to give Ruby hope though. She clutched at Shirou's shirt and looked up into his eyes, using the look Zwei gave her when he wanted one of her cookies. "Please, Shirou?"

Well, less work for him at least. "Alright," he sighed, patting her head lightly out of instinct. Setting his tools down for a moment, he walked over to the door Ruby noticed earlier and opened it wide enough to reveal a cart and all sorts of chemicals as well as several brooms and buckets. She could just barely see that there was more stuff deeper into the closet, but with Shirou in the way, all she could make out were a bunch of vague shapes and colors. Reaching in deep, he pulled a large shop vacuum that came up to his waist, its chassis plated with tempered steel.

He rolled it over to Ruby and pointed at a panel lined with knobs and switches. "This control panel here is how you turn it on. Just be careful with it. We usually use it in the arenas and the combat classrooms to pick up any leftover dust that doesn't get used, so it's pretty powerful."

"We?"

"The custodial staff."

"Oooh," Ruby nodded. A dial in one corner caught her eye. Pointing at it, she asked, "I'm guessing that's the different power settings?"

Shirou nodded at her question. "That's right. You shouldn't need anything higher than one if you're just cleaning a carpet," he explained, twisting the knob to its lowest setting. "Maybe two at most to really get at the fine stuff. However, you should never put it any higher than that."

Ruby gave a mock salute, a wide and excited grin threatening to split her face. "Got it, Shirou! Thanks again for the help!"

* * *

"I got one, guys! I borrowed it from Shirou, and he said it was fine to use as long as we keep the power low," Ruby cried in triumph as she wheeled the shop vacuum in, hunched over as she struggled to push the machine in past the door. A moment of thought let her decide that she'd rather not bother the other teams and closed the door behind her. Vacuums were pretty loud after all.

Weiss gave a small 'humph' from her seat at the desk, choosing not to comment on the way the floor sparkled like somebody vomited piles of rainbows all over the floor. And on the beds. And the walls. Idly, she brushed off a few sparkles that had found their way onto the paper she was working on. Blake was trying to read one of her books, giving a skittish glance every now and then to the pair wrestling on the floor. In the center of the room, Yang and Zwei were rolling around and kicking up glitter, the blonde desperately trying to hang onto her pet to keep him from making even more of a mess.

However, with the door now closed and the vacuum here, Yang more than happily let go of the writhing mass of fur. She watched as he bounced around at her little sister's heels, yipping in his excitement. "You really need to take him on more walks, Ruby," Yang chided her little sister, frowning as she saw the way Zwei almost shook in place.

Ruby swiftly slapped the plug into the wall outlet and hopped back, kicking up her heels as she moved to play with Zwei. "I know. Sorry, boy! I'll make it up to you this weekend." She hunched down and gave him a flat, hard look. "Because he's a good boy, right?"

To his credit, Zwei let out a small whimper and rolled over onto his back, exposing his belly to his smaller master. Ruby let her stern expression give way to a goofy smile as she started rubbing his exposed stomach. "That's right! Zwei is a very good boy!"

"Ruby! Stop putting it off and clean up this mess!"

"Sorry, Weiss," Ruby grumbled. Sighing, she unhooked the nozzle, brought it down to the nearest pile of glitter, and flicked the switch to start up the vacuum.

It didn't turn on.

"Huh?" Silver eyes narrowed as she toggled the switch on and off several times, growing more and more frustrated as it refused to listen. "That's really weird. It's not starting."

"Hang on. Let me take a look." Yang shouldered past her little sister to take a better look at the control panel. Messing with it a little, she quickly came to the same conclusion. "Maybe there's a wire loose or something. Give me a sec. I'll grab my tool box."

As Yang dug under Blake's bed where she kept the tools reserved for Bumblebee's maintenance, Weiss approached the cumbersome machine. She'd seen her butler Klein using much smaller version of this thing, easily pushing it with one hand, but this thing was much more massive. Crouching down, she got her first up close look, noting the way all the tubes curled around and into the body. With the rest of her teammates distracted, Ruby with her adorable dog, Blake with her book, and Yang with her search, she played around with the panel, pushing buttons and flicking switches.

Weiss even spun one of the dials to the right as far as it would go just to see if anything happened. Still, the vacuum remained silent. Honestly, it was kind of disappointing.

"Found them!" Yang announced as she got up off the floor. Grinning madly, she set her box to the side as she sat back down cross -legged. Yang popped open the service panel on the backside of the vacuum and took a look inside, humming in thought as she examined the hardware. "Hmmm, maybe it needs more juice. You know, I betcha Shirou's gonna be happy. It's not every day a student fixes something for the janitors, you know," the blonde chirped.

After a few minutes of tinkering, the hatch was closed and the machine was declared ready. Ruby beamed at her sister for her engineering skills and her determination to do right by Shirou. Thanking Yang for her help, she picked the nozzle back up and pointed it at the largest heap of glitter, shouting, "Hit it, sis!"

It still didn't turn on.

"Oh, come on!" Yang yelled, her short hair wreathed in flame. Angry red eyes scanned the vacuum again, looking frantically for anything wrong. "This damn thing has to be messing with me! I know for a fact that my patch job was flawless!" Ruby frowned as she leaned directly over the vacuum, looking alongside Yang to see what the problem was.

"Obviously not if it's not working," Weiss giggled, unable to resist the oppurtunity to tease her teammate who was now glowering at her. The heiress just rolled her eyes. "Oh, yes, yes. You're very scary, Yang." She giggled again as Yang just growled and turned back to her inspection.

"Maybe it's broken. You said that Shirou did use it to pick up dust, right?" Blake offered, thinking that maybe there was a loose valve or something similar that let nature's wrath get loose in the machine's delicate innards. She got up to take a look at it herself and set her book to the side, placing a mark between her pages to mark her place. Idly, she kicked aside the stiff power cord that kept getting under her foot, not paying attention to how it coiled around her as she crouched down to look inside.

Weiss scoffed. "I can't believe Beacon staff would let a machine like this fall into a state of disrepair like this. I would have thought at least Shirou would take better care of his tools."

Out of the corner of her eye, Yang noticed a flash of silver between the orange rubber of the cord and the eggshell white of the wall outlet. "Hey, I think I found the problem." The brawler of the group reached down and pushed the plug the rest of the way in.

* * *

"There!" Shirou declared, wiping his brow with a sleeved forearm. He stepped back and reexamined his work for a few moments before deciding his repairs were good enough. He'd have to remember to give a stern warning to Team JNPR about not blowing out the entire dorm wing's power grid again, even if it was to test the limits of one of their semblances. Or to at least not do it with one of the cafeteria's forks. "Finally done."

The moment he said that, the lights above him flickered and several loud screams echoed faintly from down the hall. Shirou looked up at the lights and then back down the hall. Wearily, he sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, noting the faint high pitched droning of a machine and that it seemed to originate from the dorms wing.

"Well," Shirou declared, "that can't good."

* * *

"Oh, this is so not good!" Yang lamented, watching in sick fascination as the vacuum zoomed around the room with a roaring battle cry. Was that tearing sound the carpet? Oh man, Shirou was gonna kill them!

"Turnitoffturnitoffturnitoff!" Ruby wailed. The little reaper was holding on desperately to the vacuum cleaner, her arms wrapped tightly around the bulk of its body as it rocketed around the room. As she flailed, her feet kicked against Blake's. The faunus of the team was being dragged around the room, the power cord wrapped around her ankles. Blake was trying to reach down to undo the loop, but it was almost impossible since she was getting knocked into all the furniture.

Weiss screamed as the cleaner zoomed past the corner she was huddled in, clutching the dog in her arms a little tighter. Zwei himself was trembling, both from the massive roaring noise from the devil machine that sounded a lot worse than the one at the house in Patch and from how hard Weiss was shaking.

"I've got this," Yang called as it swerved at her like bull charging at a red flag. She tried to tackle the cleaner, but it slammed into her with enough force to knock her away onto the bed which gave a sharp crack. With a loud grunt, Team RWBY's brawler bounced off the mattress and into the wall, her aura saving her from a concussion. However, it still left her plenty dazed as a shower of dust cascaded down onto her, the now heavily dented wall now missing large pieces of plaster.

As the vacuum roared through the room, its nozzle flew everywhere. With an anguished cry, Weiss watched as it landed on the table and sucked up the paper she was working, a loud tearing sound barely audible over the industrial strength suction. Blake gave a loud cry as bits of broken glass rained down on her, covering her face with her arms as the black hose crashed into the window.

Ruby screamed as every sensation seemed to blur together. An queasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as the blur and noise and speed left her recalling a certain knight's words. _'Motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on." _She was never going to call him 'Vomit Boy' ever again. She gave a pained grunt as she felt her body slam against several hard objects in their room. Ruby looked over her shoulder and paled as she realized that she was about to crash into Blake's bed, not sure if the books that kept Yang's above hers was would actually hold. She shrieked and closed her eyes in fear.

And then the vacuum died.

Falling onto her back from the lack of momentum, Ruby yelped as she landed an inch away from Blake's bed, gulping as she looked up at the heavy and loudly creaking bed it was keeping in the air. She slowly crawled away from it before sitting up. Blake was moaning and trying to unravel her feet from the cord that kept them bound together, Weiss was huddled in the corner with a cowering Zwei shielding her face, and Yang was still on the broken mattress, one cheek flush against the wall and her eyes spinning. And finally, still laying on the ground after diving to pull the plug...

"I told you not to turn it above two."

Was Shirou.

Ruby smiled nervously and tried to look as adorable as possible. "Uhhh... I can fix this?"

Shirou just looked around at all the damage done to the room and gave her a tired smile.

* * *

An hour later saw the bigger bits of plaster and the more sizable shards of glass picked up off the floor and tossed into trash bags. Weiss' mattress was fine, but the wooden bed frame was completely destroyed. Yang did not appreciate that particular bit of information, looking away with a blush and mumbling something about her diet. Now while the girls were just finishing up replacing the broken window, Shirou decided to check the shop vacuum, Yang's toolbox at his side.

"Trace, on."

Ruby, hearing the intonation, spun around and looked wildly around for the new sword. However, all she saw was Shirou kneeling in the corner, his eyes closed and one hand on the top of the large device at his feet. "Huh?"

"It looks like the valve intake got knocked loose and the capacitor is fried. How did that happen? Wait, somebody overclocked it! Oh, I see how that happened. Ugh, this whole thing's going to take me a while to repair, " he mumbled to himself.

"Shirou?"

The magus' eyes snapped open and he reared back in surprise, Ruby's bewildered face just inches away from his own. Clutching at his rapidly beating heart, he forced himself to calm down. "Yes, Ruby?"

"How do you know what's wrong with that... _demon_?" she hissed, glaring evilly at the inanimate object, its hatch still closed.

He blinked at the question and her animosity. "I've told you about it before. One aspect of my magic is something called reinforcement."

"That's the spell that makes you stronger, right?" Blake asked, putting the last touches on the window with Weiss and Yang as they joined their team leader.

"It enhances aspects," Shirou corrected. "Reinforcement makes things better, not just stronger. I could reinforce a shield to make it more durable, but I can also reinforce a blanket to trap heat better or a knife to cut better. However, I need to understand whatever it is I'm reinforcing before I can do so, and in order to do that, I use a skill called structural grasp."

Weiss looked up from her attempts at sifting through the vacuum's tank to find her paper, a delicate eyebrow raised at the name. "Structural grasp?" she parroted.

"Mhmm. I suppose you could call it one of the pillars of my magecraft. It's one of the most basic skills for any magus, but I've always been very good at it, especially when it comes bladed objects," Shirou explained. "I mostly use it for repair jobs like this though."

"Oh... So... you don't always make swords when you use your magic?"

He could hear Yang snort and chuckle. He knew what Ruby was trying to do, but one look into those pleading silver eyes and he couldn't find himself saying no.

Ruby whooped in delight as Shirou brought his hands up and two weapons came into being, a soft gleam of blue light reforming into black and white blades. "Here. You'd probably appreciate these more than anybody else."

"Ooooh," Ruby cooed as Shirou handed Bakuya and Kanshou to her before opening the hatch. She blinked as she struggled to hold each one in one hand. "Woah, these things are heavy!"

Shirou paused for a second in his work before he sighed and resumed his repairs, his shoulders slumped. "Yes. Yes, they are."

The rest of the team sat down next to her, and Ruby handed Kanshou to the three of them. "They're so beautiful," Ruby murmured, entranced by the master craftsmanship of the white sword in her lap. She looked up at Shirou, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Why did you mean when you said I'd probably appreciate them the most?"

Grimacing as he pulled out the smoking capacitor, Shirou took another careful look at the interior of the machine. "Well, you seem like you appreciate blades a lot like I do, and there's a lot of history in those swords, particularly in how they were made."

Yang hefted the black sword with one hand to test its weight in her grip, grinning toothily at the redhead's comment. "Story time!" She handed the sword off to Blake who lurched at the sudden weight without any support.

Shirou smiled lightly as Yang, Ruby, and Weiss shifted onto their stomachs to listen to him. "Their names are Kanshou and Bakuya, the Married Swords, and they were named after their creators, a married couple." The four of them 'aww'ed at that. However they paused at the somber look on his face. "Their creator was commanded by his emperor to forge a blade worthy of royalty, but the blacksmith struggled for weeks to create something worthy. His wife, seeing his despair and frustration, threw herself into the furnace."

"What?! That's horrible!" Weiss cried.

Shirou nodded and looked at the girls. All of them were wide-eyed. Blake and Ruby in particular were looking at the swords in their laps intently, their fascination taking a more morbid tone. "It is, but it was necessary. In order to create an item that approaches the realm of gods, human sacrifice is necessary. In the blacksmith's grief, he forged those two together. However, when the time came for him to present his emperor with his work, he only handed over one. The emperor discovered his deception and had him killed, taking the hidden sword for his own," Shirou finished. The girls look horrified at the tale. Blake set Kanshou down on the ground

"I don't think I like that story," Ruby whispered. Silently, the other girls agreed.

Shirou looked at the weapon in her hands. "Me neither." Gently, he took both of them back from the girls. "But I love what they represent. Two blades, crafted not for war or with the intent to shed blood but only to be the best and most beautiful swords possible. Kanshou forged these with the love he had for his wife, and no matter what they will always be together." A wistful glint flickered in his eyes. "They are... idyllic."

There was a peaceful silence in the air at that. Softly, now with an almost reverent approach, Ruby grasped the hilts of the blades, feeling their weight and their history as she held them and let Shirou return to his work.

Yang rolled over onto her side and watched as her little sister stood up and walk into the center of the room to try and imitate some of the moves she'd seen Shirou use. After a bit, she craned her neck and asked, "Got any other stories like that?"

Casting a brief glance at Yang and finding a bit of amusement at how silly she looked like that, Shirou smiled. "Well, I suppose I have a few..."

* * *

In the darkness, he could only stew in his anger. His weakness left him unable to move or even struggle against the thick sludge that kept him bound tightly against the cavern wall. A grunt slipped past his scowling lips as he felt it squeeze tighter around him like it didn't want him to go.

"Accursed... gah..." His ruby eyes blazed in fury as his lungs burned in agony, even that half-uttered curse proving too much for him. Slowly, he forced his body to relax. He needed to save his strength if he was going to tear himself from this prison. Then he could try to find some place worthy of his presence to properly regain his full glory.

He doubted it though. This world would never be able to accommodate him well enough, so he would make do with the next best thing. Until then, however, he would have to remain here in the dark. At least he'd have the time to fully plan out the faker's punishment, how to properly execute him.

And how to use it to his fullest advantage.

With a start, he realized that besides the foul squelching noise of the mud that encompassed most of his body and the drops of moisture falling from the stone ceiling, there was a faint rhythmic noise. It was steady and heavy. And sharp. Someone or something was digging and chipping away at stone.

And judging by how the noise was growing louder, they were getting closer.

A faint light spilled into the dank and foul-smelling cavern, but to his eyes which had grown accustomed to the pitch black of the shadows, it was blinding. Despite himself, he flinched and squinted his eyes. The clacking of claws and the growls of a sinful abomination echoed throughout the small chamber, almost masking the soft padding of leather shoes on rock.

"It seems she was right."

The figure strode forward and his eyes grew more accustomed to the light. Its hair was well kept and its coat was finely pressed tailored to fit him well. Behind him, a floating beast hung in the air, the foul-smelling creature the one responsible for the light as the orb that made up its head shone with a ghastly orange glow. To its side, a wretched mockery of what looked like a mole watched him with wary eyes, its massive claws stained with dirt forward as if to shield itself from him. It seemed even the beast could see him for what he was.

"My, aren't you a fascinating specimen."

He growled in fury as he was mocked, but weak as he was, he couldn't even access his treasury to punish this abomination for it. His anger bubbled within him as he was disregarded so casually. This would not stand.

"At first glance, you're certainly not much to look at, but looking at you more closely, I can certainly see why she wants you." The figure before him stroked its mustache in thought before it pulled out some device out of his pocket. 'Scroll,' his mind registered, shocking him only slightly. It only confirmed what he already knew, but the implications infuriated him further regardless.

"Well, let's get you out of there." A gesture and the mole-like creature staggered forward, the sharp ends of its limbs raised to shear through his restraints. Implied was the threat of what non-compliance would bring him, but he would have laughed if he could. Instead, he seethed as he realized that he was in a position where he could not refuse.

As he was slowly cut free of the mud, all Gilgamesh could think about were his plans for vengeance and how much sooner he could act on them.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**1\. Short chapter is short. I mostly just wanted to get back in the swing of things and figured that some content is better than no content. It's mostly short because the things I want to do with this arc are kind of up in the air at the moment in how I want to approach them and I figured this would be a good introductory chapter to the tone that I'm trying to create. Also, it helps me get my bearings. Next chapter will be longer, I promise. And you know me and my promises.**

**2\. Since the introduction of Volume 4 of RWBY, I've seen some validation in some of my world building and some wrong guesses (damnit Ghira, why did you have to be alive?). Luckily, a lot of it doesn't matter. I will admit though that I was laughing my ass off when I saw that Grimm crawling out of the mud. That was just too perfect.**

**Do what makes you happy.**


End file.
